I received a disturbing email that claims to have been written by one Colonel Harry Riley, USA, retired, to the thirty-three Senators who voted against making English the official language of our country.
Since the vote was taken in May, 2007, and Colonel Riley’s letter was written on June 6, 2007, I’m not sure why it’s being circulated now. Except for the fact that 31 of the Senators are Democrats and the tone of the letter was definitely far to the right. And, yes, both presidential nominees Clinton and Obama voted against the measure.
Riley believes these Senators violated their Pledge of Allegiance and should be impeached. He also states that “91% of American Citizens want English officially designated as our language.” Really? If so, I’d like to see the research that was done to corroborate this statistic. Failing that, I’d at least like Colonel Riley to cite his source.
Personally, I don’t understand his distress. We’ve weathered over 225 years without an official language, and if we don’t weather another 225 I don’t think multi-lingualism will be the reason.
Granted, if I went to another country and wanted to communicate well with its citizens, I’d try to learn that country’s language. So I can understand why immigrants to the United States would do well to learn English. I can understand why school systems which are already underfunded cannot afford to teach every student in his or her native tongue. I can accept that we need a language policy. But to pass a law that requires everyone in this country to speak English or be branded a traitor is overreaction at its best.
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