I realize that in order to assimilate and prosper in our country, one must learn the language, laws, and idiosyncracies that everyday life is about, but not at the expense of sacrificing your own heritage. I realize there are people who do not chose to participate in "mainstream America", I have no answer for that.
I, too, when in Spain, try my best to speak the language, live the life and absorb all that that great country is about.
We must remember that Spain is, for all intents and purposes, a homogenous society, while, we, in the U.S. are a heterogenous society with people from all over the world, in a "new" country, trying to adapt. The U.S. is a relatively young country in comparison, no?
Yes, Spain has autonomous communities and don't forget that the Basque country and Cataluña embrace their own appropriate languages. Remember the bilingual road signs. You see this all over the north!
When addressed by a waiter in Barcelona, it is usually in Catalan. There, we find it charming, here, we are annoyed.
All I mean is that we have a long way to go.