The opposition in Congress to making English the official language of the United States is a near perfect example of the failure of the current leadership in Washington to adopt a deeply held value of the American people. Eighty-five percent of Americans want the federal government to join with 30 states in making English the official language of the United States, and yet our elites consider the adoption of this value as a distraction or worse.

Consider the Democrat presidential debate Sunday . When asked for a show of hands, Mike Gravel was the only candidate to express support for English. Barack Obama said that the question "is designed precisely to divide us" and that "when we get distracted by those kinds of questions, I think we do a disservice to the American people." If 85% of Americans support English as the official language of government, the only division is between Senator Obama and the American people.

Evita Clinton responded that she supported English as the "national" language but not the "official" language of the United States, since making English the official language would prevent the printing of foreign language ballots for U.S. elections.

It seems that only the elites can possibly see 85% support for a deeply held American value as divisive and think it is acceptable to express support for English as long as it does not actually have any meaning.

Why should america have a single official language?? I think one of the good things about america is its eclectic mix of races, cultures and languages. Why ruin your unique and risk excluding minoroties...

If a majority of the population wants to have Bush impeached would that happen?

Ashley

Which country do you live in ? Here our diversity has historically worked because through the assimilation process English was the presumed language and I believe the glue that bonded us together.

Needkarma

Impeachment resolutions have been introduced by that flake Congressman Denis Kucinich (against Vice President Cheney) . They will go no where because there is not that growing ground swell ,and certainly not a majority of Americans who think it necessary or proper to do so .

So there you have it, it does matter what the majority of the population wants, the politicians will do what they wish to do.

What's the benefit of having english as the official language?

I don't know the answer but if I went to Germany, France, England, Poland, Mexico, Columbia, or Russia, and I went into their government offices, Can I demand that all the paper work I have to fill out to get permits be in English? Will their governments pay to provide language tutors for me. If I go into their county with no proper ID will I be allowed to live and work?

Capuchin

I answered that question to Ashley :

Here our diversity has historically worked because through the assimilation process English was the presumed language and I believe the glue that bonded us together.
Official English would reinforce America's historic message to new immigrants - that we expect them to learn English in their assimilation.

Official English doesn't mean "English only." None of the 30 states with official English laws prohibit government agencies from using another languages when there is a compelling public interest for doing so. All this would stipulate is that English as our official language means that for the government to act officially, it must communicate in English;the language of record is the English language.

If I moved to another country I would have to learn that language. Should the US expect less from those who would live here ?

Hmm, in that case I would probably agree.

Here in England it is the case that immigrants must be seen to be learning the language.

Chuck, Yes, you should be always able to get documents in the language of your choice. I know this is the case in England. But the English document is the only one provided as standard.

Information about Switzerland

Switzerland has four official languages and they don't seem to be falling apart too soon. In the U.S. English seems to be the defacto language already with the government supporting the teaching of spanish. Pockets of immigrants exist in every country. It's their problem if they can't speak the defacto language.

Needkarma

Fair point . However ,this has been historically true with them ,and I do not think the comparison fits because their languages are not from a rapid influx of a new population. The only historical comparison I can come up with from US experience is the large infusion of Irish immigrants into the U.S. at the end of the 19th century (part of my ancestry ).

As I mentioned above ;they did not expect that they would be able to function in their new country without learning English . This has been true of any wave of immigration in the past .

But , today with the large influx of Hispanics ,and the PC emphasis going from "melting pot" to diverse mosaic there seems to be less of an impetus .

To be honest I am quite surprised that the U.S. does not have an official language stipulation. Here in Canada we have two official languages but we don't have the influx of mexicans and others like you guys do.

Yes and that leads me to another related topic . Is the Quebec separatist movement serious ?

It has lost steam (I'm originally from Montreal). Mostly because a lot of English residents and businesses have moved out and what remains functions as they kind of want i.e.. French first, English second.

Quote:

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Barack Obama said that the question "is designed precisely to divide us"

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From rule no. 38 in the Official Democratic Guide to Campaigning, following no. 37; "Disenfranchised - say it early, say it often."

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Evita Clinton responded that she supported English as the "national" language but not the "official" language

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From rule no. 7, "Ambiguity is my friend," preceding no. 8; "Anything but answer the question."

You'd think with all the bluster about their "mandate from the American people" they could see 85% as a mandate.

Ok, Let Me See Now, English Has The Official Language.

Now Will That Be Northern Eastern English, Or Southern English, Midwestern English, Southwestern English, West Coast English, Northern Western English, Midwest English.

We Have Many Various English Dialects In This Country, Which One Would Be The Official Lanaguage??

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We Have Many Various English Dialects In This Country, Which One Would Be The Official Lanaguage??

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That's a no-brainer, we should be talkin' Texan.

Great, a whole nation saying nuclear and misunderestimated.

I've been around the world, doing business of varying types, and something has stood out to me from the beginning. English is THE language of aviation (which is worldwide) and of business (at least of large international transactions). We didn't force this--it just happened on the part of those nations that wanted to do business with the U.S. which apparently is most or all of them.

Now, I'm not claiming some national superiority thing or anything ridiculous like that. However, I keep hearing two different things concerning America:

1. America, being an incredibly strong nation, should be "leading" the world. This includes mopping up any messes made by others, and getting involved in affairs that have nothing to do with us.

2. America should stay out of the affairs of other nations when they don't have a direct bearing on us or our interests.

Funny, I've actually heard both of these viewpoints come out of the same mouth on more than one occasion. Personally, I lean more toward #2, but that's an altogether different discussion.

But if we are to fall in line with #1, then shouldn't our language be the standard? If we're going to be in charge of every d$!* thing to come down the pipe, then in the interest of effective problem solving, English should be the language. How can that ever happen if we can't even agree on what to speak on our own soil?

If we fall in line with #2, then we should do things the way we darn well want to, and if we want English spoken on our soil, then so be it.

Here's an example that I think is more relevant to this discussion:
A few days ago, I had to have some minor surgery (minor to the doc, major to me) done, which necessitated the use of some fairly tightly controlled painkillers. I go to the drugstore to get my prescription filled (anybody know the Stones song? :) ), and I'm in line behind a group of people who are obviously of Hispanic origin. Which is no big deal to me. Those of you who don't know me don't know that my wife is Native American (Comanche to be exact), and my stepson is Hispanic. But I digress. These folks were absolutely infuriated that there was no one available that spoke Spanish. It struck me funny that they were angry at the clerk who is Pakistani, and has only been here for three years and has learned EXCELLENT English. I know, because I helped put him through college, and remember him when he first arrived. In any event, once they got done using every Spanish swear word they knew, they switched to pretty darn good English. SO THEY KNEW IT, AND JUST Didn't"T WANT TO USE IT!!! Maybe it was the pain, or maybe it was my own personal proclivity to stir up an already boiling pot, but I interjected, and gave them a few sentences about what I thought----in French. They became angry, and said they "didn't speak whatever babble I was using." I pretended to become offended that they didn't speak French. The point started sinking in a little bit. Then, in perfect Texas English, I said, "As I was driving here, I passed two banks and a post office. Over all of them, the American flag was still flying. You know what that means? It means WE DON'T HAVE TO SPEAK A DAMN THING BUT ENGLISH HERE."

My wife's family, in order to be able to thrive in America, at some point had to put aside their native tongue and learn English. For generations, immigrants from every point on the globe have been making the effort to learn English to better assimilate and thrive in their new home. They wanted to be AMERICANS, not Poles/Germans/Japanese/Vietnamese/Mexicans/etc. who happened to live in America. There's a difference, you know. And it's the fact that people can't or won't grasp that difference that is the problem.

No one is making anyone give up their culture or their language. However, for the sake of efficiency and yes, national unity (we ARE a nation, you know), it is in everyone's best interest to settle on ONE official language to be used in all official national (and state, and local) transactions.

I figure if nothing else, the tree huggers should be voting for it. How many government/school papers do you get that are twice as long as they need to be, because they're printed in at least two languages? What a colossal waste of resources that is.

The bottom line is this: The very fact that this has become an issue suggests an unravelling of what makes us Americans is quickly occurring. The language thing is just one of the more visible indicators of that.

DK

Good post DK. I agree with your points.