Officially English?
According to a poll conducted by CNN’s Lou Dobbs Tonight, 100% of the 5,288 respondents said Congress should make English the official language of the United States. I couldn’t agree more.
English is a product of our culture, our history and our heritage. The linguistic foundations of this country are gradually being eroded, and in many senses, it has degraded way too far.
For example, where I live, I pay thousands of dollars annually in maintenance fees that take care of our condominium staff. All of them, including management, speak English as a second language. Communicating with them at many times is incredibly difficult. Though I speak Spanish nearly fluently, I should not have to compromise and speak to them in Spanish, since they are, effectively, my employees. Nor should they denigrate me (as they often do) because I don’t speak Spanish to them. After all, you’re in my country, remember?
Another issue is our residents. Take this very disturbing example that occurred the other day. A young couple didn’t have their proxy card to unlock the pool deck door. They saw me walking, and started speaking to me in Spanish. They asked simply “Do you have a key?” I replied in English that I did. The young man asked me, in Spanish, to repeat myself. He then added that he didn’t understand. After I let them in, as they walked off, they were muttering that there should be more Spanish-speaking people living in my building. Umm, excuse me? More Spanish-speaking people? Again, you’re in MY country. Our language is ENGLISH. This condo used to have few Spanish-speaking residents, but then the balance was tipped. We were here first. We speak English. You need to learn it. Period.
Call me racist? Not at all. I fully support the multi-cultural world (and city) I live in. But, when you move to a country (in many cases against the law), you need to adapt to our culture and our language. Not the other way around. And, don’t get upset because few people here speak Spanish, as if it’s an insult to you. It’s a courtesy that we allow you to live here, and it’s the ignorance of the establishment that doesn’t enforce our border laws to allow you to enter in the first place. (And please, I’m all for legal immigration, but the language point still applies.)
Remember, the United States speaks English. Your country doesn’t. You’re not in your country. You’re in ours.
The bottom line: Congress, make English official. Period.
The poll was rigged. Link. I’m sure the vast majority of americans believe in this, but not 100%. I voted ‘no’ because I think it’s pointless. Making english our official language won’t magically make your condominium’s staff know perfect english. I think it’s important for them to learn it, but an official language isn’t going to do anything to change things. I’m a first generation American. I speak perfect english and my parents do too… now. It took time, and life’s tough when you don’t speak the language. It’s also really embarassing, but you don’t need to be a jerk about it. We got the point a long time ago. Learning a new language as an adult while working a crappy job to support your kids (because you don’t know enough english to get a good one) isn’t easy. Instead of wasting your time on some dinky little symbol-only legislation maybe you should be thinking about things like night school and english-education in your community. That would actually impact your life.
Lillian, perhaps the poll was rigged. I take your comment to heart, and I know how difficult it is when you come to a new country. The fact that you speak English is something you should be very proud of. What I sought to convey in my post is the other side of the spectrum. There are people living here in my community who consider it an insult that I do not speak Spanish. They’re stubborn to learn my language so I can communicate with them. When I’ve visited foreign countries, I try my best to learn the language using dictionaries or simple travel guides. When people come here, to not visit - but live - it’s being terribly selfish to think that we should change our ways to accomodate them. I agree we need night schools, we need community education and further outreach. But these programs won’t make a difference unless the families themselves want to take the initiative. And when these families feel it is their right to be here and act in that way, no matter how much money we spend on these programs, they’re not going to change.
We’re in agreement about money not necessarily solving problems, but I think you’re underestimating the willingness within the immigrant community to learn english and assimilate.
About the poll, now that I’m rereading it, I think ‘rigged’ is to harsh of a word. What happened was that someone messed up coding it so no votes weren’t registering. ‘Rigged’ implies that they did it on purpose, but I don’t think they did. They don’t really need to, the real result was probably 90-10 anyway. I originally had a link to a blog complaining about this, but it didn’t go through. I guess it doesn’t really matter much now.
We are in agreement. There are many families and people coming to this country who are eager to learn English and blend in. As I said previously, my post was to point out those that do not share that same desire. Like the many families who live in my building. They’re here, but they refuse to learn English. When they communicate, they’re insulted (as I’ve said) that I don’t speak Spanish. And when I suggest they should learn English, they’re even more insulted. They treat the situation like they’ve been here forever, and that we’re the ones who need to change. I can’t recount the number of fights I’ve had with people over this issue, not limited to my condominium. It took me 2 phone calls, and a trip down to our concierge/security to get him to understand that I needed someone to come upstairs and fix something. I don’t think money can solve every problem. The only fix is in the mentality of the people who immigrate here. Many want to learn, others refuse. It’s the others I’m specifically referring to.
heh…and you say you’re a lib