Importance of the English Language

The televised presidential debates finally tackled the topic of making English our official language. Fortunately, all the candidates think this is a good idea, which it is. Diversity may be the most politically correct expression today, but the original American motto, e pluribus unum (which means: out of many, one), is still on our seal and on much of our currency. We hope that immigration will lead our country to a melting pot, with foreigners obeying U.S. laws and assimilating into American culture, so we can use the metaphor of a melting pot rather than a salad bowl to describe our growing population.

The one best formula to achieve that goal is use of the English language. It is absolutely essential for the unity and cohesion we seek, and it's just as essential for immigrants to hope to achieve the American dream.

For generations, the successful method of maintaining an English-speaking population was that immigrant children would go into the public schools where only English was spoken, they would learn fast and easy, and go home and teach English to their parents. It was a splendid system because it is so much easier for children to learn another language than adults.

But that system isn't working any more. One out of every five children enrolled in U.S. public schools speaks a language other than English, and Big Brother Government (who always thinks he knows best) made the decision to hire new teachers to teach kids in their native languages. The problem is getting worse, not better. Predictions are that by 2030 we will be teaching 40% of elementary and secondary students English as a second language. And the most shocking part is that many of them were born in the United States, which means they live in homes and neighborhoods where little or no English is spoken. English must be recognized in the schools and in law as our national language.

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