Pure Common Sense

The United States stands distinct from most other countries on Earth in not having an official national language.  In Germany the national language is German.  In Italy the official language is Italian.  Our neighbor to the north – Canada – actually has two national languages:  English and French.  All official government documents are available in both.  Yet the United States does not have a national language.  You might be asking yourself – does this really matter?  After all, if English were made the official language, it would seem a mere symbolic gesture.  English is already the de facto national language and many people actually believe that it is already the national language.  How much do our other national symbols affect our day-to-day life?  We have a national bird – the bald eagle.  How often does that cross our minds?  Do you take frequent pauses during your regular routine to reflect on the eagle?  Probably not.  It is a federal crime to hunt a bald eagle, but that’s about it.  A more visible national symbol is the flag.  But English is already the official language in several states, so what exactly is the point of saying it?

The answer lies in the nature of the effects of making such a policy official.  Policies regarding the flow of immigration and the management of the system regarding it are controlled at the federal level.  Presently, the citizenship tests are available in both English and Spanish.  Education in the United States is typically taught in English, although there are certain uncommon deviations, such as the Oakland example in the mid-1990s.  Medicare business is also dealt with in English.  The United States does have the distinction of being a “melting pot,” but at the end of the day English is what is used to communicate.  This is partially why I believe it is important to separate the past identities immigrants from the American identity they are absorbed into.

“In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person’s becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American…There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn’t an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag… We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language… and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people.”

-Theodore Roosevelt

As Teddy Roosevelt says, being an American not only means that the American identity should come first but also that no other identity should come second.  A lot of people might take on a misguided Conventional Wisdom that this goes against the idea of diversity.  It may sound not inclusive to them.  However, true inclusiveness means incorporating the diverse background into American culture.  If someone from Spain immigrates to the States they should only attain citizenship once they make the American identity their identity and the only way to really accomplish that is for them to start speaking English.  If they want to be a citizen, they should come to America to be an American.  They should not become a citizen by coming to America to be a Spaniard living in America.  I see no reason for people to complain – America has one of the loosest immigration policies in the world.  And America being as great as it is, it is in high demand.  People have been coming from our Southern neighbor Mexico and various commie regimes like Russia and Cuba for decades.  But it’s once they become Americans that diversity is realized.  And that means speaking English and doing your other duties like paying taxes.

When considering English as the official language, a big issue for a lot of people would be education.  However, in all likelihood, the effects on education would probably be minimal.  English can be made the national language by the federal government, but the state and local governments make most of the primary decisions about education issues.  Having English as the official language might make all schools required to teach in English, which they already do, even if they teach in another language as well.  However, there may be more emphasis on English.  If education is going to be bilingual, English should definitely have priority since that is the native language and the language which the kids will need when they become adults in this country.  Therefore, that’s the kind of education our taxes should fund.  Higher education throughout the United States is mainly in English.  There are global pathway programs that give some thought to other languages, but they’re for foreign students studying here, not American students who don’t know their own language well enough.  Also, when it comes to voting, we should all be expected to be informed when doing our duty.  English should be on citizenship tests because without English it is a lot harder to vote in good knowledge.

Of course, this does not mean that people will not be allowed to speak their previous language.  For recent immigrants, it is certainly understandable.  I think it should be made an inconvenience for one to get by without speaking English though if one is living here full time.  For young children, I would understand if the school hired an extra tutor to help them learn their classes up to speed since they are being taught in something other than their used to.  This would be encouraging, but an inconvenience.  Of course, it’s up to state and local school districts to decide if this is worth it.  They work with limited resources and they probably know best.  There has to be a limit on it at some point.  The actual full Americans cannot have their path slowed down simply because a recent aspirant immigrant wants to jump on the same path – they need to work out the difference on their own.  Let’s take an example for a moment.  Say there is a thirty year-old man who speaks Spanish but is not fluent in English.  He has lived in the country for fifteen years.  When he first came, he was told he had to learn English in five years and that he would not be entitled to any special treatment after that.  If he is charged for a crime now, he has a right to a lawyer if he cannot afford one.  That is guaranteed by the constitution.  However, he is expected to be assimilated and know English by this point, so he is not entitled to an interpreter.  That may sound harsh, but he was given a reasonable deal and he took a risk by not owning up.  There can be no hand-holding.  Otherwise there would be no personal responsibility.  Living in a great, free country like ours means people make decisions and make mistakes and suffer consequences.  Not just with this issue, but in general, people need to be suffering more consequences.  Unfortunately, we’re not perfect, but we can make things better over time.  Making English the official language, as small a gesture as it is, would be a step in the right direction.