Controversy Ahead Of House Hearing On GOP’s ‘English Only’ Bill
While it's no secret that the Republicans will do anything they can think of to try to disenfranchise as many American citizens as they can, I may shock some of my conservative friends by saying that I actually do support the idea of making English the official language of the United States. One of the reasons this country has so much division within the population is a lack of communication between different groups. Much of this has nothing to do with what language they speak, of course, but if we are ever to be "one nation indivisible" again I think it's important that we all have the ability to understand each other's words.
Whether this bill is the best way to go about this is something I can't say. If there is to be any exception in the country to an "English Only" rule that exception would have to be at the voting booth. I look forward to the debate on this one. What's your opinion?
Article excerpt follows:
Controversy Ahead Of House Hearing On GOP’s ‘English Only’ Bill
Ryan J. Reilly
August 2, 2012
Republican witness at today’s House Judiciary subcommittee hearing on legislation making English the official language of the United States is from an organization with ties to racism.
Dr. Rosalie Porter, chairwoman of the board of ProEnglish, is testifying in support of the “English Language Unity Act of 2011” before the House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on the Constitution on Thursday morning.
ProEnglish is headed by executive director Robert Vandervoort, who came under fire for hosting a panel at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) this year featuring Peter Brimelow of the website VDARE, an organization labeled as a white nationalist hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. The panel also featured a speech from then-National Review editor John Derbyshire, who would later be fired from the magazine for writing a racist article in the wake of the shooting of Trayvon Martin.
Porter also spoke on the CPAC panel, where the immigrant and former bilingual teacher called bilingual education an “insane idea.”
Rep. Steve King (R), the sponsor of the bill (which has 120 cosponsors), spoke at the CPAC panel as well, where he complained that an unnamed Republican leader would not let him be floor manager of an English-only bill because he wasn’t an immigrant (it’s unclear if that has changed, King’s office did not respond to a request for comment). King will attend a press conference alongside ProEnglish after Thursday’s subcommittee hearing.
Vandervoort himself came under fire from the Institute for Research and Education on Human Rights, which labeled him a “white nationalist” for his alleged ties to the Chicagoland Friends of the American Renaissance. At the time, Rick Santorum’s presidential campaign downplayed Vandervoort’s attendance at a luncheon for the candidate. Vandervoort has previously denied the charge, telling TPM earlier this year that he had “never been affiliated with any group that promotes hate or violence.” Vandervoort didn’t respond to TPM’s interview request on Wednesday evening.
Democrats are slamming Republicans for spending time on a piece of legislation which could prevent non-English speakers from casting a ballot or interacting with their government.
“Are you really going to tell someone who came here from the Soviet Union that they shouldn’t vote because they have poor English language skills?” Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) said in a statement . “I really don’t think this country gains, and in fact I believe we are harmed, by excluding many good people from jointing the families who came from around the world to be part of this great nation.”
Read More: http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/08/...
I have also seen the issues and problems of a multicultural environment where a host of languages are supported (the European Commission) and have to conclude that it would be better for a country or an organisation to have at most two languages, but preferably only one because of all the headaches that arise by ensuring that all official documents are translated into all of the supported languages.
Of all departments in the European Commission the translation department had the largest overhead.....
In the UK we are obliged to translate all official documents into Welsh and Gaelic - despite the fact that English is taught to the children in Wales and Scotland - a big expense to make a point don't you think?
It's not just about that annoying 'Press One' feature we all encounter; it is more than that. A common language is one thread that helps newcomers assimilate faster and become more self sufficient.
imo - English IS the official language of the US, so - where's the problem? after all, what language do the vast majority speak? what language is the nation's official business done in? what language do people begin speaking once they arrive? maybe not immediately, as I demonstrate below, but quickly, people begin speaking English. "problem" solved.
the US is ALSO the melting pot of the world and justifiably proud of that fact - - unless and until we do something to make those 'others' feel unwelcome. then our pride is misplaced.
so, let's take the points one at a time:
1] people move here from other nations. if they're arriving from a nation that doesn't require learning English in its schools [a steadily shrinking number] or if they're poor, they don't know our language. should that bar them from entering the country?
adults have a difficult time learning a new language. the window in the brain for easy assimilation begins closing around the age of 6 -8 though children in elementary school still, for the most part, remain fairly adept. so, the children in the family, immersed in English at school, learn it quickly. kids want to blend in and not be teased. they have a very large incentive to learn it. and...
imo - English IS the official language of the US, so - where's the problem? after all, what language do the vast majority speak? what language is the nation's official business done in? what language do people begin speaking once they arrive? maybe not immediately, as I demonstrate below, but quickly, people begin speaking English. "problem" solved.
the US is ALSO the melting pot of the world and justifiably proud of that fact - - unless and until we do something to make those 'others' feel unwelcome. then our pride is misplaced.
so, let's take the points one at a time:
1] people move here from other nations. if they're arriving from a nation that doesn't require learning English in its schools [a steadily shrinking number] or if they're poor, they don't know our language. should that bar them from entering the country?
adults have a difficult time learning a new language. the window in the brain for easy assimilation begins closing around the age of 6 -8 though children in elementary school still, for the most part, remain fairly adept. so, the children in the family, immersed in English at school, learn it quickly. kids want to blend in and not be teased. they have a very large incentive to learn it. and they do.
and hey, presto! within less than one generation, the family is speaking English.
as they grow up, those children help their parents navigate any official-ese they have to go through with the state.
2] and what's so horrible about accommodating those people we say we're proud of welcoming to our shores [and who have, historically, been a great part of the reason for this country's vitality and rise in the first place?]
I think you and I can agree that the people who are pressing this issue are doing so for their own not-so-noble reasons. exclusion is decidedly NOT the direction I wish to see this country go and, imo, one that could only harm us immeasurably.
as you, yourself, pointed out, the next step would be English-only ballots. is THAT where we want to go?