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English is now the Official Language [1]
['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']
Date: 2025-03-02
I thought the weekend would go by without more Donald Trump disasters, but I was wrong again.
The new executive order is called: Designating English As The Official Language Of The United States. It was another one of those things that was bound to happen with a racist, anti-DEI megalomaniac in charge.
His first justification is that the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were written in English. But that's not the end of it. It's just the beginning.
There were large segments of the public that did not speak English in 1776, and the Declaration of Independence was translated into German and printed on July 9, 1776 by Henrich Miller in Philadelphia.
The Constitution was no different. People had to ratify the document so it was translated into Dutch in New York and German in Pennsylvania and Maryland. About one third of Pennsylvanians spoke German as their primary language
Donald is wrong from the outset.
"A nationally designated language is at the core of a unified and cohesive society ... " How about Switzerland where they speak German, French, Italian and Romanish? They seem to do alright.
"In welcoming new Americans ... " If you don't speak and don't learn to speak English, you need not apply. The next phase of the deportation plan is simply language based. If you don't speak English, you're off to a country where yours is the main language.
"This order recognizes and celebrates the long tradition of multilingual American citizens ..." This AI written order just keeps couching the edict in such innocent sounding language.
"To promote unity, cultivate a shared American culture ... pathway to civic engagement ... America's best interest ... designate one --- and only one --- official language." It's a list of excuses to justify what hasn't been necessary for 250 years.
" ... streamline communication ... reinforce shared national values ... create a more cohesive and efficient society." Efficient society. The Department of Language Efficiency. DOLE. If you don't speak English, you must be getting government benefits to which you are not entitled.
To make this wonderful plan possible, Trump revoked Executive Order 13166 of August 11, 2000 called: Improving Access To Services For Persons With Limited English Proficiency. He's rescinding one of his own executive orders from his first term. Musk is President and there is an AI bot that is pulling Trumps puppet strings. Trump just signs these things after reading the title.
"Agency heads are not required to amend, remove, or otherwise stop production of documents, products, or other services prepared or offered in languages other than English." You don't have to change any work in progress, but once that is finished, everything must be done in English only, forevermore.
The repercussions are astounding. If you thought the ban of everything in government that referenced or implemented DEI was bad, this will be worse exponentially.
The first thought is schools. Trump will withhold federal funds from any state whose schools promote or use multilingual education. In other words, take away the ability to actually learn English as a punishment for not having learned it at home. Sometimes the parents haven't learned English, so the pathway to freedom in life is severely limited.
No more English and Spanish ballots or voter pamphlets.
Would Trump go as far as trying to regulate out of existence Spanish language broadcast radio, TV stations and cable channels?
Where does the First Amendment come into this? Does the freedom of speech apply to using other languages? Our founding fathers spoke in different tongues, and the populace at the time thought so.
"Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech ... " Is another language classified as "speech?" There is no other way to look at it. Freedom of speech has to apply to speaking another language.
The end of the argument is that this order is unconstitutional. Will the press jump on this abridgement of rights as well as legal non-profits?
To the Trump administration it's just one more log tossed onto the bonfire of inhumanity for the sake of "government efficiency." The cause that absolves all.
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