America, for a long time, has had all kinds of people entering its borders, from all walks of life, trying to make a new start for themselves.

This includes people from many different cultures, who speak a variety of different languages.

Even with this being the case, some people still think it is acceptable to make fun of those for whom English is not their first language, whether it be for their ‘accents’ or for not having a handle on certain words.

This is reprehensible on many levels.

It is strange that some would criticize others for not “learning the language” of the country they are in, and then be rude to them for trying to do so.

It is even more strange that in many cases, the people making fun of others’ accents only know one language in the first place.

English, like many other languages, is hard to learn if you did not grow up speaking it.

It may seem harmless to laugh when someone says a word differently or if you do not understand them fully, but these sorts of actions have repercussions.

It not only creates a stigma against those from other countries, but it also discourages those who are trying to learn English from doing so.

It is as simple as that — the Golden Rule. If you don’t like people laughing at you, don’t laugh at them.

Maybe instead, we should all attempt to have a little understanding and compassion for others instead of having the immature knee-jerk reaction of giggling or getting angry.

We all have to learn to live together in this world, and in this country, and get along. Part of this means talking to people who do not look the same, or speak the same language.

At the end of the day, we are all human, and a difference in skin tone or language does not take this away from us.

While we all should be proud of our cultures and share what makes them unique with each other, it would be counter-productive to have them cause discord among people who are otherwise the same.

People who both feel similar emotions, have loved ones they care about and who are just trying to live their best lives.

We can either make a choice to let our cultural differences divide us or to let them bring us together.