by Diana Holmstrom

Created on: May 27, 2010

Regardless of racial influxes, one thing remains constant in America: People migrate here for a better life, for opportunities unavailable to them in their countries of origin. The United States of America is more than just a continent or a land mass.  America is an Idea, and even more than that, it is an Ideal.

Our Founding Fathers crafted the sacred documents that inspired millions upon millions of people from all over the world to come here to become a part of this ideal. A Part. Not  “APART”.  People came here to assimilate into this rich culture, to be integrated, because they wanted to be  Americans. Not Asian- Americans. Not African-Americans. Not Mexican- Americans, just plain, old Americans. And that was not only good enough, it was the culmination of their dreams! Freedom! It offered them the right to live in peace, to speak their mind openly, to vote their beliefs and conscience with impunity; it offered them opportunity beyond their wildest dreams, it offered them choices.

Here, millions of previously oppressed people discovered the irony of becoming assimilated in order to finally experience the power of Individuality!  They came and they were happy and proud to be Americans; non-hyphenated Americans. Diversity inevitably and continually has seeped into our culture, making us stronger, expanding our understanding of the human condition, encouraging a more solid sense of individuality for all. Which, after all, is what this country is all about.

There is no dictate here that says you must only speak English in America. Speak Spanish if you wish, or Mandarin, or Korean, or Cantonese, Tagalog, Greek, Italian, German, French, or heck, Ebonics or Pig Latin if you desire! It is a free country. There can be no detriment to acquiring a proficiency in many languages. That is one of the many, wonderful choices available to us all.

But the official language of this country? It must be English. It is not about how many Spanish speaking people live among us. Or Asians. Or anything else.

It is about the men who, together, brilliantly, beautifully, magically, crafted, in English, words that carried so much power, so much vision, so much longing and hope and desire in the hearts of millions of men and women from every corner of our planet, inspiring in them the courage to leave their own lands and all that they knew, to face unknown dangers for an opportunity to taste freedom and to live an Ideal;  words that continue to inspire millions to come here still.

I can think of no better reason for honoring English as our official language than that. It is the language that expressed our Ideal to the world.

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