Monday, March 10th, 2025
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
MUST WE ALL SPEAK ENGLISH IN AMERICA?
Should America have one official language-English? The President says yes, and asserts that a single shared language “is the core of a unified, cohesive society that serves to streamline communication and empowers new citizens to achieve the American dream.” Who could argue with those goals?
There are many, particularly in Washington, who would contend that America is one big melting pot. “We came to America to be Americans.” They would argue. Nothing wrong here. It all comes down to how they would define “American.” Remember that when our forefathers came to America, they did not assimilate or adopt the native Indian language. Actually, there was a good bit of “ethnic cleansing” going on back in those early days.
Louisiana is a state that is about as culturally diverse as you can get. Bayou country has a long history as a domestic mix of rednecks, Cajuns, Creoles, Latinos, African Americans, Italians, and Irishmen, just to name the larger ethnic groups. They don’t party at all hours of the night down in New Orleans in the “American Quarter.”
Now I know it’s the political rage throughout the country to demand that English should be the official language. And quite frankly, I agree. That is, from the public perspective. I occasionally get a bit irritated when I’m told to “press one for English, two for Spanish” If a U.S. governmental body insists on printing forms, giving tests, and processing governmental applications just in English, then that is how the process works. It would be an unjust burden to expect the federal government to print documents in every language requested.
But here’s where states’ rights come in. If any state feels the need to offer services in another language, that should be its prerogative. In some areas of my home state of Louisiana, French is the only language spoken by older Cajuns. Grocery stores in some small south Louisiana communities post daily specials in French, and the southern part of the state has a number of radio stations that carry French Cajun music.
Recently, The New York Times profiled Mamou radio station KVPI that broadcasts to a large listening audience in French. The popular morning show begins early and is called “La Tasse de Cafe. “Certainly the President would not want to interfere with this morning ritual that so many of his constituents enjoy.
In the southeast corner of the state, a number of publications appear in Vietnamese to service the growing Asian community of immigrating fisherman. When I served as the state’s chief elections officer back in the 1980s, Louisiana election ballot information was printed not only in English, but also in Spanish and Vietnamese. It still is today.
The recent census found that over 380,000 Louisianans speak another language besides English. This number, just to name a few, includes French (194,314), Spanish (108,189), Vietnamese (23,326), German (8,047), Chinese (5,732), Arabic (5,489), Italian (3,730), Tagalog (Philipino-3,335), Korean (2,402), and African Languages (2,2278).
But what about “Speak English or Get Out” as some of our politicians in Washington are advocating? Look, I’ll stay out of your face and you stay out of mine. Don’t tell me what language I can or cannot speak. I don’t need some government official telling me what to do. If I want to go around speaking any foreign language, that’s my right as an American. I will not voluntarily stand by and let some politician or Big Brother set the parameters as to how I can or cannot communicate. When you tell me what language to speak, then you start down the path of telling me where I can speak, what I can speak, or whether I can even speak at all.
So to all my friends, redneck like me or otherwise, pick and choose your fights wisely. The real problem is the overspending, money wasting, high taxing, and freedom-limiting bureaucrats in Washington and in our state capitols that lack the courage to set this country in the right direction with a little common sense. You up there! Take care of the economic chaos you have created. And for goodness sake, leave Boudreaux, Jinjing, Abdul, Jamarcus, Bubba, poor Pedro, and me alone.
And don’t forget what my old friend Homer Simpson says: “English? Who needs that? I’m never going to England!”
Peace and Justice
Jim Brown
Jim Brown’s syndicated column appears each week in numerous newspapers throughout the nation and on websites worldwide. You can read all his past columns and see continuing updates at http://www.jimbrownusa.com.