Wednesday, July 26, 2006

English as the Official Wedge Issue


Republicans sure feel they have to dig deep this year to salvage their majority. Stem cells, gay marriage, flag burning, immigration laws, and just recently, English as the official language. There will be a House hearing tomorrow to examine how Spanish really is the reason people's lives are in the gutter.

Let's put it this way: in New York, the ultimate uber-conservative model for a city that should be fractured and frayed from its immigrant, cultural and class divisions, English has survived. In fact, if you consider that most media outlets operate out of New York and Los Angeles, another area constantly threatened by brown people and Chinese laundromat operators, you would think that the bumpkin redneck English (come on, I watch Raising the Roofs and NASCAR) that comes out of the heartland is more of the exception than the rule about the international language of commerce.

James Crawford, Director of the Institute for Language and Education Policy, explains the frivolity of English legislation better than I can in this written House testimony.