On Election Day, I voted at my polling place in Lancaster County. We had the option of voting at the 1 electronic booth that was set-up; or, we could fill-out a paper ballot and then feed it into the counting machine ourselves.
I chose the paper ballot, because the line was shorter and I figured it would be just like filling-out a ScanTron test in school.
As I was waiting in line for an open chair and table to fill-out the ballot, I looked over the ballot so that I could speed up the process for when I finally sat down.
It didn’t take me long to get irritated. Not because I had to wait in line for a few minutes – but, because I had a hard time finding the English! The ballot was written in alternating English and Spanish, making it not so user-friendly.
Now, I am well aware that the United States does not have an "offical" language. But, why was Spanish the only alternate-language on the ballot? And, why isn’t English our official language?
If we're not going to have an official language, how can we discriminate against those who speak another language, and not have the ballot in all languages? Yes, this logistically seems ridiculous, but wouldn't it be more fair?
You may disagree with me on this (and I welcome a good debate/discussion on it), but English should be the official language of the United States.
Our country truly is a country of immigrants. My family came to the US from Ireland, Germany and Italy around 1900. None of them could speak English when they arrived in New York City, but they were eager to learn and mastered English very quickly.
Why? Well, they wanted to become part of their new home and wanted to be an American. Now, they never abandoned their heritage; rather, they embraced the American way-of-life.
Why should it be any different today?
I fully support having preliminary government documents in multiple languages when they first arrive in the US. But, when you become a US Citizen and become eligible to vote, etc…you should be able to speak English fluently.
What are your thoughts?
