THE ENGLISH ONLY RANT

Unless English becomes this nation’s only official language – and pretty damned quick – our country is absolutely, irrevocably, and irreparably doomed! We are self-destructing at an inordinately rapid pace which continues to accelerate with blinding speed as the years inexorably advance. There must be no compromise, no equivocation, and positively no surrender on this vital issue. Nothing less than our national identity and survival are at stake and our country’s future as the America we love and cherish is being seriously jeopardized. Make no mistake, for unless this culture war is won and the enemy thoroughly routed the United States will cease to exist in any meaningful or recognizable form.

On the one side, the battle is joined by a host of subversives who care not a whit for America’s history, traditions, culture, mores, and norms. They constitute the hordes of multi-culturalists, diversity-touting champions, bilingualists, politically correct leftists, and the blame America first mob. In their view, the United States is the epicenter of all the world’s ills and a planet without America as it is presently constituted is to them a Nirvana like utopia that in the past they could only orgasmically dream about. Due, however, to their undue and overwhelming control of such institutions as the media, secondary and higher education, and a huge chunk of America’s decision makers that fantasy is moving ever closer to reality. They can taste and smell the blood and like sharks at a feeding frenzy are ready to move in for the kill.

On the other side of the conflict there exist those of us, and there are many, who understand that without a common language spoken by virtually all who are born here or came from elsewhere our nation’s future is at best bleak and at worst doomed to destruction. Due in part to the aforementioned control of our major institutions our voices are rarely heard much above a whisper compared to the ear-shattering din, the howling harangues of those who oppose us. When we insist that English must be adopted as America’s official language, not merely by custom and usage but by fiat and amendment, it’s akin to painting a target with a big red bull’s eye on our collective asses! We are instantly attacked and maliciously maligned by both invective and adhominem. We are called vicious, racist, xenophobic, and bigoted. We are termed throw backs, Neanderthals, anti-immigration, red state, gun toting red necks who are simply too unsophisticated and not sufficiently nuanced to comprehend such concepts as globalism and one-worldism!

We are routinely lied about. We are painted as evil personified, as uncaring and completely devoid of compassion or humanity. This, of course, is an absolute load of pure happy crappy! In a web piece entitled, “The English Only Movement,” from www.ericdigests.org it is maintained that “the current English Only movement advocates that English be the official and only language used in the United States. . .” Official, absolutely, but only – NO! I know of no one nor have I heard of any individual, group, or organization that seriously advocates this ridiculous position. Obviously, the more languages one speaks the better off one is but if you’re going to live, work, and make a life in the United States one of those languages had damned well better be English – and we mean fluent English! It is not enough to merely speak the language but reading and writing English is also crucial. These conditions must not be optional but required of all those born elsewhere who have come to America no matter what the reason.

The same piece further maintains that for “opponents, Official English is synonymous with English Only.” It is characterized as “a mean-spirited attempt to coerce Anglo-conformity by terminating essential services in other languages.” Coerce? Mean-spirited? Well pardon us, Dip-Shit, but if you want me and the rest of the tax-suckers to fork over our hard earned money the very least you can do is learn our fucking language! Doesn’t sound all that unreasonable, does it? Additionally, the English Only movement supposedly poses “a threat to civil rights, educational opportunities and free speech, even in the private sector.” I love these guys. They make outlandish charges never supported by factual, empirical evidence but somehow the accusation sticks. There are enough mindless, unthinking, moronic oafs out there that they’ll automatically adopt the party line no matter what it is.

Republicans are racist and homophobic. Yup, they’ll say. Conservatives hate anyone who isn’t like them. You betcha, they’ll agree in unison. People who love their country and want it to flourish are somehow akin to nativists and jingoists and despise all other nations and cultures. All these mind numbed Boobies can do is vigorously nod in agreement as they march in lock step toward the destruction of the greatest country God ever gave mankind! Worst of all, they charge that the “English Only movement serves to justify racist and nativist biases under the cover of American patriotism.” Well then, there you have it. Obviously and ipso facto, if you are a patriotic American, love your country, and have faith in its ideals and institutions you must be both racist and nativist. What an absolute load of pure, unadulterated horseshit!

The same web piece, thankfully, provides a fairly clear and accurate description of those of us on the “Right” side of the debate and nowhere and at no time will the opponents of the movement be honest enough to do the same. They’d rather just name-call. For supporters, “the case is obvious: English has always been our common language, a means of resolving conflicts in a nation of diverse racial, ethnic, and religious groups. Reaffirming the preeminence of English means reaffirming a unifying force in American life.” There you go. Our evil has been exposed and our sinister purpose revealed to all. We want and even demand that America remain a unified nation with an official uniform language. Can someone explain to me what the fuck is so wrong with instilling a sense of unity and national purpose among the roughly three hundred million souls that now call the United States home? No, I thought not.

We live in what is easily the most diversified and least homogeneous nation in history. There are well over three hundred languages spoken here and virtually every religion, sect, offshoot, and branch practiced around the world has found a place in the United States. Anything wrong with that? Not in and of itself. This diversity, however, must be balanced by a national unity and a national language is the surest and best way to guarantee that outcome. Without this kind of unity there is absolutely no doubt whatsoever that our nation will go the way of the Balkans in years past and we will see competing factions morph into warring factions which will literally rip the country apart.

Leaving aside the unifying element of making English our official language is the incontrovertible fact that English is the overwhelming language of success in this nation. As noted by the web piece, “Moreover, English is an essential tool of social mobility and economic advancement. The English language amendment would send a message to immigrants, encouraging them to join in rather than to remain apart. . .” Got that? TO JOIN IN RATHER THAN TO REMAIN APART. So much for that callous, cold, compassionless, hard ass conservative monster who hates everybody. We, in fact, want immigrants – and all Americans – to succeed beyond their wildest dreams. We want no one to fail who comes here seeking a better life. The more they are successful, so too the nation. It is in our best interest as well as theirs to see them succeed. The English only movement is the best chance they and we have of realizing that lofty ideal.

The Americanization of new immigrants is nothing new or radical but has been a goal of this nation since its inception and one of the most obvious and logical places to accomplish this has always been our country’s schools. We’re all familiar with the concept but today the preferred term is assimilation and the two are easily interchangeable. Way back in the 1920’s, for example, we actually saw the proliferation of what were once known as “Americanization schools.” Their purpose was self-explanatory and obvious. It was expected – a given if you will – that new immigrants would become Americanized not only because they should but rather because they wanted to. One such institution existed in Granite City, Illinois in the 1920’s and ran ads published by the Press Record Publishing Company. It announced that the term would begin on September 27, 1920, and classes would meet on Monday and Thursday evenings at 7:30 PM.

The advertisement boldly stated without even a hint of apology, “KEEP AMERICA GREAT – BECOME AN AMERICAN CITIZEN – LEARN THE LANGUAGE.” There existed all those years ago a direct correlation between language and greatness. It was known, not merely assumed, that if enough immigrants did not learn English and become Americanized the consequences for the country would be ruinous. The ad proclaimed, “America is a great country. In America everybody has a chance. Everybody who comes to America from the old country ought to learn the American language and become an American citizen. If the people that come to America do not become Americans, this country will soon be like the old country.” The advertisement was not merely prescient but more prophetic in its wisdom regarding what a lack of Americanization or assimilation would mean for the nation. These folks were not embarrassed by their position, were unabashedly patriotic, and put their country first. Fast forward to today. That attitude is virtually gone, buried under an avalanche of multi-culturalism, destroyed by diversity worshippers, and enforced by the political correctness police. Can you imagine the resulting hysteria and predictable outrage directed against anyone who has the audacity, the balls, to suggest creating the New York City High School for Americanization or perhaps the Los Angeles Secondary Academy of Assimilation!?! How about the Detroit Developmental Institute for America First?

Today, of course, that concept is gone. It has been completely destroyed by those who insist that all cultures are equally important, valid, and have something to offer. These fools insist that we know as much about other customs and cultures as we should about our own. This is completely ass-backwards, topsy-turvey, and dangerous. In America we must stress above all else what is American. It is completely unimportant and irrelevant for Americans to understand, appreciate, and celebrate the culture and traditions of those from around the world who arrive on our shores by the millions. They desire to live here while we have no desire to live there. It is our customs, culture, and traditions that matter and must be preserved within our own borders and all others must be subordinated to it. If that sounds too brutally frank and blunt, too politically incorrect and insensitive – tough shit! Just deal with it. While it may certainly be useful and enlightening to learn about and appreciate those foreign traditions brought to our shores by, well, foreigners we are under no obligation to do so. Newcomers, however, do have an absolute obligation to understand American norms and mores if they wish to make America their home.

Americans certainly have obligations to our new arrivals. We have a duty to thoroughly inculcate these folks with all things uniquely American. To fail in this duty is to invite absolute and utter ruin in the not too distant future. Perhaps President Theodore Roosevelt said it best when he bluntly intoned in 1914 that, “We have room for but one language in this country, and that is the English language, for we intend to see that the crucible turns our people out as Americans, of American nationality, and not as dwellers in a polyglot boarding house.” He also declared quite simply that there is no room in this nation for hyphenated Americans. You got that? Either you’re an American or you’re not! Roosevelt was right then and he is right now. To say what he said, however, in front of God and everybody is to invite utter scorn, ridicule, and mockery. The politically correct, multicultural mob will vilify anyone who dares express such sentiments as an insensitive lout, a racist xenophobic pile of poop, and – of course – the worst possible of epithets: a conservative, right wing, Republican!

Our educational institutions have failed miserably in their fundamental task of teaching all of us – native and foreign born – about America’s greatness and untold contributions to the world. We are indeed a gift to humankind, a glittering gem among the nations of the globe. That we are almost universally condemned around the world is at best confusing and at the very least horribly unjust. It is this nation that constantly uplifts the downtrodden of the world and spends both treasure and the lives of soldiers to ameliorate age-old problems like hunger, disaster, and when needs be answers the call to arms. In return, most nations seem to hold us in utter contempt, ridicule, and scorn. What is especially perplexing and vastly more dangerous, however, is just how many of our own citizens as well as wanna-be’s hold exactly the same view. How is it possible that in the freest, most opportunity laden society ever witnessed in the history of this planet so many of “us” take the same view of America as do our global enemies and detractors. This is not only troubling, confusing, and hurtful but presents a horrific and frightening glimpse into our country’s future: and it’s going to be a fucking nightmare!

In no small part, this has occurred in direct proportion to our public schools failing in their mission to educate native and foreign born to America’s brilliant history. Pride in nation is not instinctive but must be learned and reinforced. In this our young people have been literally robbed of their great heritage and culture by a completely failed educational system. Certainly, students should also learn about America’s mistakes but on balance the positives far outweigh the negatives.

In addition to this glaring failure, our schools have fallen horribly short in other crucial respects. Most notably in the de-emphasizing the English language and its importance as a unifying element in a nation that has precious few unifiers and far too many divisive factors. In New York City high schools, for example, I have seen Regents examinations given in Spanish, Urdu, Creole, Chinese, Hindi, Bangladeshi, as well as others that I can’t identify. This sends an obviously catastrophic message to immigrant students not yet proficient in English: learning the language of success and acceptance is simply not an urgent priority. In years gone by, new immigrants learned English as quickly as possible for they understood that the dominant culture would never accommodate them and that they must then oblige their host. Makes sense to me. Think about moving to China, Russia, Japan, or Korea. Is there any chance that such equivalent high school examinations would be printed and administered in English? You got that right, Skippy! The multiculturalists and the Rainbow Coalition hucksters love this shit. It fits right into their agenda of turning this nation on its head and destroying those institutions and traditions that made it great. They constitute no more than saboteurs, subversives, and traitors.

An article from www.nytimes.com very succinctly summarizes the views of the famous or infamous late Albert Shanker, a past president of the American Federation of Teachers (I have my own view about teachers’ unions but that’s for another time). In Shankers’s view the “rationale for public schools was to teach children what it means to be an American.” Furthermore, the union chief insisted that schools had the urgent task of teaching not just skills, “but also American history, culture and democracy. Public schools to him, were critical in this process of Americanization.” I seriously doubt good old Al’s chances today of leading any teachers’ union. This is only one reason why Shanker opposed the rise of Afro-centric schools during the 1980’s. They tended to denigrate American values and culture and he worried that they would “distort curriculum to feed student self-esteem and get them to identify with their ethnic group rather than as Americans.” Shanker maintained that if “public schools become places where children learn that, fundamentally, they are not Americans, there will be no reason for taxpayers to continue supporting them. And there will be little to hold society together.”

The man was not only spot on but utterly prophetic. Recently in New York City a rancorous controversy erupted over something called the Gibran School, a public facility “dedicated primarily to the study of Arabic language, history, and culture.” Is there anything wrong with studying and learning Arabic language, culture, and history? Not at all, but do it on your own dime not at the tax sucker’s expense! I can’t say for sure, but I’m willing to bet the ranch and my first born that there is a distinct under if not a clear-cut over tone of anti-American and anti-Western culture permeating that high school in favor of a not very subtle bias toward all things Arabic. I wonder if Jihad 101 or 102 are offered as electives or are part of the required core curriculum? Can we all say Madrassa?!? It is absolutely outrageous that this kind of public school be funded by me, you, and the rest of the schmucks out there. You think its American equivalent could be found in Saudi Arabia or Iran? Go ahead, give it a shot. Before you know it some devotee of the world’s most peaceful religion will be using your freshly severed head as a coffee table knick knack or perhaps a really tricked out hood ornament for some oil rich rag head’s stretch Mercedes limo!

While one such school like Gibran may be nothing too much to worry about, I’m relatively certain that this is just the beginning of a wild and dangerous downhill spiral that will only further rip apart the fabric of New York City and factionalize it even more than it is now. If I were some kind of conspiracy nut I might even think that this is the beginning of an entire movement designed to additionally polarize the various ethnicities and religions in our country with the end game being the destruction of the United States as a governable entity! Nah, that could never happen in America, could it? The author of the New York Times web piece wonders whether the school in question will morph into a school “seeking to instill ethnic pride in Arab culture with a sprinkling of Americana taught here and there.” He further queries, “will the school be critical of Arab (and American) culture where necessary or only cheerlead? Will students leave the academy with a strong grasp of America or become part of an underclass unable to navigate outside their own ethnic community?”

The organization U.S. English (www.usenglish.org) is a group dedicated to making English America’s official language and it wholeheartedly supports what has come to be termed an English only amendment to the Constitution. This drives the multicultural crowd absolutely nuts. They become apoplectic just contemplating the mere thought and the deep injustice of making sure that all immigrants to this nation speak English! Life is just too fucking cruel and unfair. The site points out that there exist thirty states that have some type of Official English law on the books already. They maintain that declaring “English the official language means that official government business at all levels must be conducted solely in English. This includes all public documents, records, legislation and regulations, as well as hearings, official ceremonies and public meetings.” How absolutely Draconian – how utterly discriminatory – how terribly, terribly unjust! Furthermore, the folks at English Only explain that “declaring English the official language is essential and beneficial for the U.S. government and its citizens.” They point out that according to the U.S. Census, 2000, official English unites Americans, gives us a common language and a unified form of communication in a nation in which something like 322 languages are spoken. More importantly, Official English “encourages immigrants to learn English in order to use government services and participate in the democratic process.” It also “defines a much needed common sense language policy.” Yeah, yeah, I know. Those evil, xenophobic conservatives trying to unify one of the most disparate nations on the planet and introduce just a little common sense where none exists. Just who the fuck do we think we are anyway?

The Official English site has a facts and figures element that overwhelmingly argues the absolute necessity of making our language the only official language spoken here. Did you know, for example, that “79 percent of Americans, and 81 percent of first and second generation Americans favor making English the official language of the United States,” or that “96% of Americans believe it essential/important that immigrants living in the United States learn to speak English.”? Are you aware that “nearly two-in-three foreign born adults say that the United States should expect all immigrants to learn English,” and that “68% of Hispanics say that the goal of bilingual education programs should be to make sure that students learn English well.”? Again, “three-in-four foreign born adults believe that schools should teach English to immigrant students as quickly as possible, even if it means that they need to catch up in other subjects.” Even more tellingly, “nearly 90% of Latinos believe that adult Latino immigrants need to learn English in order to succeed in the United States.” The list of facts, replete with sources, goes on and on until any rational person wonders how anyone can argue with or object to the Official English Movement. Remember, the key word here is rational.

When confronted with such insurmountable evidence, the multicultural, politically correct, blame America first mob completely and irrationally reverts to its automatic default position – they name call. That’s the best they’ve got. They can’t argue rationally, effectively, or convincingly. Rather, like poorly behaved six year-olds they comport themselves by using the verbal equivalent of a temper tantrum. Figuratively speaking, they stick their tongues out, hold their breath, and stomp their feet. Adjectives like jingoist, nativist, red neck cracker, and Neanderthal are some of the milder jabs they throw at us. They yell and scream a lot, get very red-faced, and speak so fast that one simply can’t get a word in. Their fulminating tirades might even be somewhat amusing save for the fact that they are doing their damndest to destroy this country and if we don’t start fighting back they’re going to succeed. Can we all say the Tower of Babel just after the Big Guy up there lost his temper? It’s coming.

Much Love Y’all and Have a Great Day!

The Fifth Horseman