Posted by Bobby Eberle
April 15, 2008 at 6:22 am

>> Printer-Friendly Version

Georgia Rep. Paul Broun has introduced legislation to make English the official language of the United States. As Broun notes in a "dear colleague" letter, "America's genius has always been assimilation, taking legal immigrants and turning them into American citizens. The key to assimilation, of course, is a shared language. Large-scale immigration without effective assimilation threatens social cohesion and America’s shared values." Broun is now working to get other congressmen to sign on as co-sponsors of his bill.

The bill, officially designated H.R. 5759, is known as the English as the Official Language Act of 2008. The bill is identical to its Senate companion, S. 2715, which was recently introduced by Sen. Jim Inhofe. The bill deserves careful consideration and support. The more we turn away from uniting people in this country as Americans, the more our country loses its strength and heritage.

As Rep. Broun notes in his press release, the bill will "reduce costs to our federal government and will encourage new, legal immigrants to quickly adopt America’s native tongue. Learning English has always been and will continue to be a key step in achieving the American dream."

The bill:
# declares English to be the official national language of the Government of the United States.
# states that no person has a right or entitlement to have the US Government or any official to communicate, perform or provide services, or materials in any language other than English unless specifically provided by statute.
# provides that if an exception is made on the use of a language other than English, the exception does not create a legal entitlement to additional services in that language or any language other than English.

No one says that immigrants shouldn't hold on to their customs and their history. Those are important and help define the character and personality of the individual. But there is a reason that an immigrant chooses to leave his or her country and make the journey to America. It is so that person can live a new life, to pursue freedom at its fullest, and to become part of the American fabric. The English language is the thread that holds the fabric together.

Study after study has shown that English immersion and other accelerated English programs are much more effective in preparing immigrants for the "real world." Yet liberals keep pushing bilingual "education" which only keeps immigrants from achieving their full potential. English is the language of commerce, technology, industry, and invention. Promoting programs that do not recognize this simply in the name of "cultural diversity" is a disservice to the immigrant.

http://www.gopusa.com/theloft/?p=693