Thought Theater

English Only: Que Has Dicho? genre: Six Degrees of Speculation

English only...what did you say? It is completely shameful that some politicians are willing to exploit existing prejudices towards Mexican speaking immigrants in order to appeal to certain voting blocks. Can someone explain to me why we have time to craft, debate, and vote on two bills to define English as our "official" language when the current immigration problem is the culmination of having ignored the problem for over 20 years. The action on these two bills simply points out the misguided priorities of those who hold the power to decide the legislative agenda.

So if we're going to make English our official language in order to insure that people assimilate into the American culture, why not take it a step further? Why not ban St. Patrick's Day, Columbus Day, Kwanzaa, and all other events that celebrate other cultures or any other foreign heritage? It appears that a number of politicians and Americans believe that Mexicans should not to be allowed to openly celebrate their heritage. To my thinking, it simply demonstrates that bias and prejudice are hijacking the immigration dialogue.

Anyone who has walked the streets of any major U.S. city has heard countless foreign languages being spoken and yet no one has suggested that all foreign languages are an issue that warrant the passage of legislation. The issue only arose when the topic was Mexican immigrants. Those who think that race has nothing to do with this particular immigration isue might want to take another look. You can link to prior Thought Theater immigration postings here.

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has said that President Bush does not support designating English as the "official" language of the United States. Read the full article here.

"The president has never supported making English the national language," Gonzales said after meeting with state and local officials in Texas to discuss cooperation on enforcement of immigration laws.

"English represents freedom in our country and anybody who wants to be successful in our country has a much better chance of doing so if they speak English," Gonzales said. "It is of course a common language."

But, Gonzales said, "I don't see the need to have laws or legislation that says English is the national language."

The United States currently has no official language and the amendment was showing signs of further inflaming an already incendiary issue, with Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada calling it "racist."