English as our national language.

I read an article today about the need for more interpreters in hospitals. This could lead me off into a thousand different directions, but this is the one where it did lead.

On the right, people want to make English the national language. On the left, people want to leave it alone because of our "melting pot" beginnings. I'm in the middle, because I don't think it makes a bit of difference.

The good news for the right is that if we did, we would no longer have to print materials in several languages so that people can understand. The bad news is that our tourism drops off because they can't visit our sites. And they may have heard of and want to see Mt. Rushmore, but if you can't read about the Presidents on it, it's a lot like visiting Trafalgar Square and wondering who the dude on the statue is, but never getting an answer. It becomes pointless, and just another chunk of carved rock.

The good news for the left if we make it the national language is that in effect, nothing changes. The hospitals will still employee translators, the historical sites will still translate everything into several different languages, and most likely, certain school districts will still order textbooks in Spanish, because when you have 85% of your class speaking Spanish, nobody cares what the national language is. The bad news for the left is that it would almost certainly push through legislation getting the borders sealed up, and maybe even legislation outlawing the printing of textbooks in any language other than English. And even if things stay the same, nobody on the left would count that as a victory for their side.

The only people that are being benefitted by this debate are your Congressmen. Without them telling you that this is an issue, would you even truly notice it? Think about it. Would you REALLY notice it? You put together your kid's bike, and the instructions in Chinese didn't hinder you, because they also had instructions in English. You visited Disneyworld and didn't find yourself confused at how to find Space Mountain because the directions were in French. You went to the doctor's office and they spoke to you in English, DESPITE the fact that they have the little signs listing a phone number you can call to have them translate into Farsi. And somehow, despite going to a school with a large percentage of Spanish speaking students, your child managed to come home with English textbooks (and the ability to work as a translator at the UN later in life). Meanwhile, the rest of the world thinks we are once again "stupid Americans" because we have 100+ examples of how to do a national language, and we still make a mess of it.

But your Congressmen tell you that we NEED to be concerned, or we NEED to keep it from being specified the national language, and we listen. We listen because they tell us the things we are interested in when we didn't even know it ourselves, and without them doing so, we cannot call ourselves "informed voters". I'm kinda waiting on them to declare Wisconsin cheese the issue, and watch them square off on it. One Senator would start the debate, talking about how their constituents are up in arms over Wisconsin's domination of cheese related products. They will go on Bill Maher's show, and talk about the cheese industry, and then voters will go to the polls. We will become a nation that is even more divided, and it will be because of Cheddar.

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