In diversity there is strength
There is no such thing as an "official language" in America, but that has not stopped the president from calling for the English language to be a requirement for admission to the U.S. Fact check: It is already a requirement for citizenship, and has been for many years.
Moreover, there are many native born American citizens for whom English is a second language. The dominant language in Puerto Rico, for example, which has been part of the U.S. for more than 100 years, is Spanish, and Puerto Ricans are American citizens.
There are also the many members of the Native American tribes, with their own languages and traditions, who also hold U.S. citizenship. And the Pennsylvania Dutch hold to their traditional language, a variant of German, as part of their heritage.
So if the president moves to make English the official language of America as part of an effort to keep out members of other groups, what might be next? He has already called for a ban on all Muslims entering the United States, despite a Constitutional provision prohibiting any religious test.
Now he wants a language test. A logical move following this could easily be an ethnic test, banning members of a particular group from holding office.
Let's consider the consequences for just one group and members of that group who are now members of Congress. The test can be by name alone.
That means all these people now holding office in the Senate and the House of Representatives would be ousted:
Ryan, McConnell, McKinley, McCain, Callahan, Doyle, Murphy, Kelly, Sullivan, McDermott, Moore, Duffy, Mulvaney, Brady, McCaul, Cassidy, Fitzpatrick, Sullivan, Moran, McCaskell, Casey, Toomey, Leahy, McGovern, McDonald, McCollum, McCarthy, Maloney, McIntire, McHenry and Kennedy.
Where would America be without the contributions, past and present, of people from the wide diversity of traditions that helped to shape America? This nation has never been a melting pot, despite what some have claimed.
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