This morning, the Senate voted (63-34) to declare English the official 'national language'. I, for one, am outraged at this shocking act.
I simply can't believe that our leaders would sanction the use of another country's language for us. Everyone knows that our national language is AMERICAN! What were these guys thinking?
Yes, I understand the argument that immigrants ought to learn the majority language in order to assimilate, but, consider this:
Picture the Roman Emperor, say around 450 AD, issuing an Imperial Decree that Latin is the national language of the Empire, while the Visigoths are heading south. My point is that, when it gets to the point where a government has to assert something as fundamental as requiring the people speak one particular language, rather than accede to a threatened change, the demographic reality of change-in-the-air is already present.
The History-challenged among us fail to understand that, excluding the Atlantic Coast, the rest of this continent was occupied by folks who spoke many languages besides English, and, three score and ten years after 1776, the majority language in what is now California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas sure wasn't English!
However, I do take some comfort in the reassurances from Senator James 'Global Warming is the greatest hoax of all time' Imhofe, that this measure is NOT to be construed to be aimed at Spanish speakers.
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2 comments:
Barry, you need to go back to school. Latin was the language of the Roman empire. Business and legal transaction were conducted in Latin. Yes there were alot of other languages spoken but Latin was the "official" language. Just as French was the language of diplomacy.
The entire point of this effort is to encourage assimulation rather than Balkanization, which is where I fear we are headed.
I see your point, but I was drawing an analogy between an over-extended, corrupt, military-dependent Empire, that was trying to resist a powerful demographic transformation, and the western Roman Empire of 450 AD.
Assimilation is a good idea, in many respects, but the reality is that the entire southwest section of this nation was, for over 300 years (i.e. longer than the USA has been in existence), Spanish speaking.
In northern Italy today, German is predominant. Switzerland has 3 official languages. Major parts of this country are now de facto bi-lingual.
Sensitivity to other languages and culture makes us richer. Fear and ostracism of The Other makes us mean. What I see, in the current debate, is thinly-disgused 'White Pride', and it makes me very uneasy.
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