Nashville is poised to become the largest city in the United States with an “English only” policy. The proposal is being spearheaded by Councilman Eric Crafton and is up for a vote on January 22. He observed that in California some government officials use interpreters because they can’t speak English.  Crafton, disturbed by this, stated “That’s not the vision I have for Nashville.”

Though the measure faces growing opposition, Phil Valentine, a radio talk show host and columnist for Nashville’s major newspaper, The Tennessean, shares Crafton’s concern.  Unfortunately, Mr. Valentine’s argument is an irresponsible defense of a biased and poorly framed logic based on historical myths and even a perverse ignorance of history itself.

Line after line Mr. Valentine displays his crude understanding of anything outside of Nashville.  This is demonstrated early on in his piece where he states that the U.S. is “the best example of a diverse people…bonded together, not by force, but by choice.”  The emphasis is mine and I use it to demonstrate the lack of sincerity in his argument (do you think he asked his African American friends if they agree with him about how this nation bonded together?).  How could a newspaper columnist and radio show host -a person with influence- make such a statement in Tennessee; a state that fought in a war to keep African Americans enslaved? Instead of educating himself and his community, Mr. Valentine propagates myths about our nation’s history.

He states that the English Only proposal is not racist, but an act of preserving unity.  He complains that in Nashville Hispanic immigrants that have not learned English have congregated into a community of their own instead of living among established Nashvillians.  To Valentine this is the result of the language divide. He claims that in the past, immigrants took great pride in learning English and that this is what made them feel like “real Americans” (a la Sarah Palin).

This, of course, is hogwash.  It is not a rejection of America or the English language when immigrants choose to live in a segregated community.  Immigrants and other ethnic groups have always done this.  It is merely out of necessity of comfort, safety, and familiarity.  In other words: a community.  No major city is without its distinct ethnic neighborhoods: New York has Little Italy and Harlem, Miami has Little Havanna, San Francisco has Chinatown and the list goes on.  Indeed, such neighborhoods are distinct, but aren’t they  also quintessentially American?

It is both amazing and fascinating to realize that there are people, like Phil Valentine, who seem to have an irrational fear that the English language will disappear.  In fact, it is the opposite.  Immigrant communities overtime lose their original language and adopt English because it is the dominant language.  Perhaps what frustrates Valentine is that this does not happen overnight.  What Phil Valentine does not realize is that he is completely blind to the fact that what the Hispanics on Nolensville Road in Nashville are doing is precisely what preceding immigrant communities across the country did on their way towards Americanization.

With this in mind, shouldn’t we be a democracy that welcomes all, despite their differences?  English Only policies do not encourage people to learn English.  They instead spurn distrust and division.  What Valentine may or may not be realizing is that he is preaching social exclusivity and in the process is denying important aspects of our nation’s history.  In a democracy disagreement is both inevitable and necessary, but an irresponsible and uninformed stance in a democratic society is nothing less than dangerous.

Tags: English, english only policies, hispanics, Hispanics in the South, immigrants, immigration, latinos, Latinos in the South, Nashville

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 14th, 2009 at 5:23 pm and is filed under El Rafa. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.