English Only

Let us be clear here. If Oklahoma residents eventually vote to approve an English-only amendment to the state constitution, the state will deservedly be known as a place intolerant to other cultures and languages.

This intolerance, which some people will term racist and xenophobic, could cost the state in economic development, lower international college student enrollment and prevent the state’s population from growing at national averages. All these potential consequences will isolate the state just as the country faces dire economic problems.

An English-only bill has been circulating in the Oklahoma Legislature this session. It has passed overwhelmingly in the House and is now pending in the Senate. It would make state voters decide in November if English should be the official state language. (English, of course, is the defacto official language already.) The constitutional amendment would require all state business be conducted in English. One of the co-sponsors of the legislation and its main public spokesman is state Rep. Randy Terrill (R-Moore), who authored the draconian state anti-illegal immigration laws approved last year.

If approved, the bill would primarily prevent the state from offering any state services or documents—such as driver’s license tests—in Spanish and other non-English languages unless federal law supersedes the state requirement. Make no mistake about it. The amendment, just like Terrill’s anti-illegal immigration bill, is targeted at Hispanic people here.

This continued targeting or scapegoating of Hispanic people, followed by the hollow denials of this insidious intent among some state leaders, is despicable, but the amendment, if approved by voters, will send another terrible message about this state. It will tell the world that Oklahoma is a backwards, bigoted place. This could obviously inhibit Hispanic people and many businesses from locating here. Universities will be duty bound to tell potential international students the state has strict anti-immigration and English-only laws. The state will then struggle, as it often has, to attract people to live here and the quality of life and income levels will decline.

No one denies that immigrants to this country should learn English. Immigrants know that more than anyone else. English is the worldwide language of money, at least for now. But there are obviously circumstances where new immigrants need time to learn the language or when visitors need help. There are also emergency health care and legal situations in which translators are required. Oklahoma, of all places, should be accepting of new people who want to work, live and visit here. The English-only bill does not even give them a chance or make them feel welcome.

There are larger, philosophical issues related to this amendment as well. Americans should learn different languages given globalization and the world economy. Promoting language studies should be a large ongoing initiative in our country right now given current world politics. We should be promoting language studies in our schools here. Instead, in Oklahoma, we isolate ourselves and withdraw from the modern world. This bill tells people from other countries they are not welcome here. It tells our children here that they do not need to learn another language.

(Maskoke is the Creek word for Muskogee and lekwe means rotten, according to the Creek Language Archive.)

A bill that would make English the state’s official language is institutionalized racism and a targeted slap in the face to Oklahoma’s Hispanic and Native American communities.

The bill, introduced by state Rep. George Faught, a Republican from Muskogee, would require that all state business be enacted in English. This would include drivers’ license tests and, apparently, social and health services and documents as well. It would primarily create hassles and suffering for the state’s growing Hispanic community, though all non-English speaking people would find life more difficult in Oklahoma if the bill passes

Symbolically, the English-only effort absolutely ignores the state’s rich history, which includes the contributions of Native American tribes, many of which were forced from their land and sent here by the federal government before statehood. These tribes have their own unique, centuries-old languages and customs that would be shamefully dishonored by this bill. Consequently, some tribes have come out against the bill.

The bill is part of the GOP’s continuing political strategy to anger people about The Other. It aims to cast suspicions and distrust on anyone who is not white and does not speak English. As the country and the state becomes more diverse, the Oklahoma and national GOP must set up a false enemy, or The Other, to blame for their corporate-worshipping policies that keep wages stagnant and health costs high for the middle class.

Along with creating basic human hardship, the bill would also be costly for two other reasons:

(1) It will show the country and the world that a majority of Oklahomans are intolerant of people from other cultures with different languages. This could cost the state in economic development. Potential businesses will see us as a place of hicks and racists. This is a particularly horrid bill to pass during our centennial when we want to draw attention to our accomplishments, not the deep-seated bigotry in our history.

(2) It sends a message to our children that learning and studying languages other than English is not worth the time or effort. It creates a law that actually sanctions intellectual ignorance. If we don’t expose our children to other languages, we hold them back from participating in the world.