America, More Voices Matter Than Just English Speaking Ones

It’s July, and thus America is gearing up to celebrate its metaphorical birthday, this coming forth. As are many, I am looking forward to the festivities — cookouts and fireworks — and invaluable time with family.

Hold up though: Before we celebrate anything, we need to have a conversation. The forth is meant for us to parade and take enjoyment in America and the unique values, which make us so badass. Here’s the thing, we haven’t been living up to those values fam. So before we start going hooray and lighting up the grill, lets make sure we’re aware that there’s a lot of work left to be done, to get us to that point.

The list on what we’ve got to do is long, but I’ll start at the beginning of our Constitution: Amendment number 1

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” — The Founding Fathers

In simpler terms, we’ve come to commonly refer to this as the “freedom of speech” amendment. Here we guarantee that all people of this country are given the right to have their voice heard. Well, here’s the problem, that’s not the case. What if I were to tell you that America essentially only values the voice of those who speak “English” and that every other language, isn’t given the same “freedom of speech” in our Government? In fact, if you speak any language other than English (or don’t have a proficiency in the language), you can’t become a citizen of this country?

As it stands, the current process for naturalization, requires individuals to pass an English test (https://www.uscis.gov/us-citizenship/naturalization-test). I’ve spent hours searching, but google has yet to give me a an actual reason as to why this is the case. Considering the United States history of rapid colonialism and acquisition of multiple territories with none English speakers, especially throughout our nations early history (Louisiana Purchase resulted in acquisition of land where many inhabitants spoke Spanish or French, for example), its safe to safe that this contingency hasnt always been in place. The fact that it exists now, is extremely odd.

Here’s the thing — The United States of America has no official language. While English is indeed the most spoken language, hitting at 80% of speakers, other languages are just as impactful and meaningful to the communities of our country. Spanish, for instance is spoken by a whopping 12.4% of the country. That’s significant.

Thus, for our citizenship test to disregard the fact that we have no official language and make English a requirement, makes no sense. The question must be posed: why is it there? (Waiting on an answer).

This goes beyond just paper though, as this restriction skews the naturalization process against some and for others. Europeans, for instance (due to historical, proximal, and other causes) are more likely to know English than people from any other part of the world. This comes from the resources and economic stability in Europe (largely as a result of colonialism and exploitation of the other parts of the world), which enable access to English education from an early age.(http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/10/08/more-than-any-other-foreign-language-european-youths-learn-english/). This is great for European immigrants, who tend to be white. It’s not great for regions of the world that don’t have those same resources, and access to English. Thus, white Europeans at an advantage in becoming a U.S. citizen, white others are disadvantaged to the extreme.

What do we do then? Simple: take the test off. It has no business being there. It’s existence confirms the idea that “your voice only matters in America, if you speak English”, and that is in direct violation of what we “claim” to stand for. It’s unacceptable, and creates an unnecessary barrier for many, who’re trying to take the steps to citizenship. Everyone’s speech matters, not just those in English. Point blank.

Its just something to think about on this Fourth. Being someone who loves my country, I take pride in having a day to celebrate. That, however, is not enough. The pomp and circumstance is fun and what not, but true expression of love for something, is taking a step back, giving constructive criticism, and doing what’s necessary to improve it for the better. In the words of James Baldwin, “I love America more than any other country in this world, and, exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually.”