English as the National Language

Passing legislation designating English as the nation's National Language should hardly be an issue of priority and pertinence within our government, yet the matter is growing in national relevance. As immigrants continue to arrive at the ports and fly over the borders, multiple languages and cultures are brought with them, adding to the "melting pot" of celebrated diversity that many officials encourage. A deeper issue, however, is present. Hispanic immigrants no longer struggle to learn the English language, that of which Americans do business with, and rather, maintain their cultural heritage through the heavy usage of their Spanish language. Because of this, pockets and ghettos are created based upon the language spoken, rather than just poverty or suffering.
American businesses have no choice but to cater to such a clientele. With Spanish-speaking residents occupying the majority in many areas, businesses begin to advertise in Spanish and offer services bilingually to maintain a profit margin. This catering to the Spanish community has allowed immigrants to continue living in the country without learning the English language. It is required that all immigrants who do not fluently speak English must take an English course to obtain citizenship, however, most Hispanic immigrants never apply for citizenship, but rather, have their children in this country, legally designated them guardians of American citizens, and thus essentially, citizens themselves. Yet they never had to learn English.
Simultaneously, the massive influx of Spanish-speaking individuals in the Southwest has prompted schools to start teaching bilingually as well. This again presents problems as all standardized tests are in English, yet many of the students are unprepared to take the test because they barely speak the language, much less be able to succeed at reading comprehension and writing prompts. A local high school in my neighborhood, dominated by a Spanish speaking student body, has an average score in the 38 percentile in TAKS testing within the writing section. Our education system isn’t just lacking funding, it’s lacking English. Our national scores are falling because many students just don’t comprehend, and schools are enabling them by teaching bilingually.
Personally, I have found that many immigrants are unwilling to take part assimilating into the United States. Maintaining your native culture is upstanding and praiseworthy, but neglecting to conform is disrespectful. Immigrants used to be proud to learn our language, yet now derogatory and foreign words are thrown about describing those of us who promote it. I walked into Burger King last week and they removed the signs on the trash cans, the ones asking you to please get your trash in the can somehow, because no one understood what they were saying. Because they were only in English, the Burger King figured that the Mexicans of the neighborhood did not know they were trash cans. To continue with the absurdity, they removed the eight foot "Have it Your Way" sign above the soda fountain, and replaced it with a Spanish alternative. There isn't even an English version in fine print. That's pathetic.
I work with an entirely Mexican crew in a restaurant, all of whom continuously speak Spanish. To communicate with them, I am forced to speak in Spanish because they do not have the slightest desire to learn English. But why would they? Signs are in Spanish. Their paychecks are in Spanish. They work in the back, so if anything adverse occurs, the English speaking employees get blamed since they run the storefront. In order to keep the business running affluently, I have to learn to speak their language.
Language is a barrier between the lower and middle class. Immigrants that do not assimilate into our language have severely reduced odds of experiencing the American Dream and advancing social classes. My Vietnamese comrades work in a blind and shade assembly factory. My Hispanic comrades work in restaurants and lawn care companies. I have never met a highly successful individual that was not literate and at least moderately versed in the English language.
English is the language of our nation, the language that we were built upon and thrive on. The passing of English as a National Language is not racist, nor discriminatory, but rather preserving English as the language that the government officially acts through and reserves English as the language through which services are provided. The successful unification and breach of the language barrier could possibly boost our economy, as the spread of ideas and business opportunities would exponentially increase and spread rapidly, and the dissolution of language-centered ghettos would finally begin.