Testimonials

I am a German born legal resident of the United States. In the 11 years I have lived here, one particular issue always raises my blood pressure ... no official common language.

It surprises me, that the citizens of the U.S. who possess such high degree of pride and share such strong bonds in other aspects of their lives, for example sports, do not seem to care much about the strongest bond of all, a common language. 

When I first came to the U.S. I did not speak much English. The few words I did speak were accompanied by gestures, finger pointing and facial expressions. With my decision to stay and live here I automatically made another, that was to learn the language most others spoke just as well, if not better. My reasoning was quite simple and not necessarily in the order in which it follows. I figured, that in order to advance in any profession, profound language skills were necessary if not mandatory. Furthermore, I do not like to stay in the dark when included in a conversation. Lastly, I believed, and still do, that in order to become an equal and respected member of the American society, it was not only necessary, but essential. Well, on my writing you can judge how far I have gotten up until today. 

My English language skills have brought me various privileges others may never enjoy. Most people I speak to today take a while before they figure out that my native language is not English. So when I tell them that I did not start to learn it until I was 29 years old they shower me with compliments and express their respect. I have also held management positions with various companies, that without my English skills would have passed me by. I even ran a language translation agency and language training program for a while. But more than anything else, I enabled myself to become a full-fledged and legitimate member of society. The last thing missing, is to become an American citizen, which should be completed this spring. 

The privileges I listed imply some of the questions I have for other foreigners who do not strive for the same as I did. Why would I restrict myself to jobs, in which I limit myself to just being a worker, without an outlook of more responsibility, more money and more prestige? In other words, a management or directorial position. Why would I consciously restrict myself to live within the same group of people by refusing to embrace new people and friends? Why would I not embrace a society that enabled me to better myself? Why would I not integrate myself, so that I can take full advantage of what this new society has to offer? Why would I willingly cast myself as an outsider looking in? 

You see, language as I see it, is the ultimate connection we all share. Without language there is no communication on any level. Without language, reservations and concerns we may have about each other cannot be erased. Without a common language we do not prosper together. Quite the opposite, miss-understanding, misjudgment, anger, confusion, seclusion, rejection, even prejudice and hate are the consequences of not speaking the same language. How do we ever unite, if not in language? How do we become "one people," if not through language? How do we achieve together the same dreams and goals, if not through language? 

What we are doing is dividing the country into separate societies. The American, the Mexican, and the Oriental. We implement bilingual education programs, which in a weak and insufficient educational system, already have failed. We print official papers in our government agencies in Spanish. We advertise on radio and TV in Spanish. We provide translators in courts and businesses. We are doing everything, but including foreign nationals. We are telling them exactly to do the opposite of what they should be doing. No need to learn English, everything is in Spanish. Don't worry about directions, the street names are in Korean, Japanese, or Chinese. 

Do you know where the actual reason lies, for me to speak and write in English as well as I do today? It was not only because I made the choice to do so. It was because in order to achieve what I wanted to achieve, I had no choice. 

Unfortunately, we have made that choice for Millions of immigrants already. What angers me the most, is that our government has given in to a few special interest groups, that are run by narrow-minded, hypocritical and self-serving individuals. And to make matters worse, our politicians willingly follow suit, so that they may garner a few more votes at the next election, i.e. President Bush's proposed Amnesty Proposal. 

In conclusion I would like to say: "Our country is a long way from becoming a truly unified country. The main ingredient must come from every citizen, every immigrant and legal resident, and that is ... a common language."

S.S., Texas

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