Our current self-inflicted immigration “crisis” caused by the unimpeded flood of illegal aliens invading America makes this suggestion very germane to the discussion of immigration.
Rules for the phone.
How ALL business phones SHOULD be answered!
GOOD MORNING, WELCOME TO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
Press "1" for English.
Press "2" to disconnect until you learn to speak English.
Legislton is long overdue and needs to be passed now by Congress declaring English the official language of this nation. There is too much money and too much time wasted making bilingual accommodations for people refusing to assimilate into this culture as many of our forefathers had done in earlier days. This is one of the major problems with the whole issue of so-called amnesty, or as Bush and Kennedy deceitfully refer to it as, “Comprehensive Immigration Reform."
In fact, the 1.8 million member U.S.ENGLISH, Inc. , which calls itself, "The nation's oldest, largest citizens' action group dedicated to preserving the unifying role of the English language in the United States, believes that the passage of English as the official language will help to expand opportunities for immigrants to learn and speak English, the single greatest empowering tool that immigrants must have to succeed."
Furthermore, according to U.S. ENGLISH's website,
"Currently, U.S.ENGLISH is working with members of the House of Representatives and Senate to help pass official English legislation in the 110th Congress. H.R. 997, the English Unity Act of 2007, was introduced in March by Rep. Steve King (R-IA). In 1996 U.S.ENGLISH was instrumental in helping to pass "The Bill Emerson English Language Empowerment Act of 1996" in the House of Representatives. This bill passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 259-169, with 36 Democrats joining Republicans in this historic vote. Unfortunately, the Senate failed to act on the bill before the session was over."
"On the state level, 30 states have English as their official language and several more are considering similar legislation. Most recently Kansas, as well as Idaho, Arizona, Alaska, Georgia, Iowa, Missouri, Utah, Virginia and Wyoming have enacted some form of official English legislation with the help of U.S.ENGLISH."
Learning the English language should be an absolute requirement for anyone desiring to become a citizen of the United States.
ReplyDeleteIf we are to remain a strong (?) nation we must keep our standards high. After all, why should we come down off our level of greatness as a nation blessed by the Almighty--just to seek the good favor of others in the world. At the same time, we must not exude an air of pride and arrogance.
The English language is spoken in over 100 countries around the world, and it is one of the major diplomatic languages as well. In addition, the English language is a predominately spoken language within global economic circles throughout the world.
If others are to become a part of this country--let's set the standard high enough in order that we maintain a quality of life that matches our greatness.
It's time we hold the feet of the american political system to the fire until it purges itself of its wayward acts.
At the same time though we must ask ourselves, "Do politicians ever think before they act? It's certainly a thought worth pondering.
Our country desperately needs strong leaders not weak politicians.
Hi j -
ReplyDeleteThank your for your insightful comments to this article and the other comments you have made on A Good Choice.
I pray we will have good, strong leaders emerge in time for next year's election to help to turn this country around.
God bless you.
According to Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Retrieved June 06, 2007, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Conservative, a conservative "is disposed to preserve existing conditions, institutions, etc., or to restore traditional ones, and to limit change." Also, from the same source, a compassionate person will have feelings "of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering." Also, one of the synonyms of compassion is clemency, and one of the synonyms of clemency and AMNESTY is forgiveness.
ReplyDeleteI point this out because I sometimes see these words, compassionate conservatism, used to describe behavior or beliefs that do not fit these descriptions.
My belief has always been that we should alway try to walk in the footsteps of our Lord Jesus Christ. One of His favorite themes was forgiveness. As a matter of fact, forgiveness is an essential part of the teachings of the New Testament. At the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gave us the Lords Prayer in which He says, "Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us." Is this appropriate to this issue? I think it is appropriate to MOST issues.
If we see someone in this country who cannot read, speak, or write english, then our response should not be to exclude them from the American Experience, we should find ways to help them learn these new skills. Please keep in mind that the United States has always been a melting pot and has never had a population that spoke 100% english.
Some of the things that were written in this post are just plan mean. We need to stop talking about language and start talking about people, real people. Jesus said we should treat other people as if they were part of our family. Maybe we should be asking these two questions:
1. What would I do if this was my Father (or Mother)?
2. What would Jesus do!
I do not think that people should be forbidden from speaking their native languages or punished because they can't speak English well.
ReplyDeleteBut all official Federal legal documentation including ballots and laws should only be in English. I believe that the States have the right to make their own choices about how this issue is handled on the State level.