Scared of Spanish

Apparently, some people think the growing Latino population in the United States is going to make Spanish the most-spoken language in the country. \nI bet you're not buying any of this. I'm glad because it means you have some smarts, or at least, more than some people in Arizona do. Apparently, Arizonians fear a Spanish takeover. \nAccording to The Associated Press, Rep. Russell Pearce is pushing a bill that would require government proceedings to be conducted in English only. This includes public meetings and publications like water bills and neighborhood \nnewsletters. \n"We're an English-only nation and our records should reflect that," Pearce said. "If you come to America, you should speak English." \nI don't know what Arizonians are thinking. The country doesn't even have an official language. I guess our founding fathers didn't see a need to even mention anything about language in the Constitution.\nThis English-only bill affects anyone who speaks another language, but the group that's most affected is Latinos. They represent a quarter of the population. \nThe creators of the bill know this, and they don't like it. They know Latinos are the fastest growing racial group, and it scares them because growth in numbers means growth in power. \nThese upper-class white lawmakers don't want to live in a state where more than half the population is Latino -- where Latino culture will play a larger role in state politics -- so they are taking action with this proposal. \nThis really isn't about language at all; it's about control. \nSince Latinos are the fastest growing population group, they are quickly gaining political and economic power in the state. And the future is scary for conservative lawmakers. They don't want to live in a bilingual society. \nBut that's never going to happen. \nIt's not like Latino immigrants aren't learning English. They're assimilating to American culture, but it just takes longer than lawmakers would like. Each future generation speaks better English and surpasses the others. \nWhen my parents came to this country from Mexico in the 1960s, they didn't speak any English. They never took classes, but they eventually learned from talking to people at work and watching TV. My siblings and I were born here, and now, just after one generation, we're eating fries instead of frijoles (beans). We're embracing both Latino and American culture.\nBut Arizona lawmakers don't want to embrace Latino culture. Because as long as many Hispanic immigrants remain uneducated, they will remain at the bottom of the social ladder and have far less influence than other groups. \nThose who support the bill want to send out a message that if immigrants want to live in Arizona, they have to adopt the English language. \nHowever, by starving all Spanish speakers for knowledge, they're taking away the voices and votes of many Latinos who have earned their citizenship. \nWithout government newsletters or public meetings in Spanish, many citizens who don't speak English well will remain uninformed about what's going on in their own communities. This isn't fair. \nThis entire proposal is based solely on a fear of change.\nBut nothing is changing except for an increase in the number of brown people. Latinos are strengthening the country and making it more diverse. \nAfter all, everyone says that this country is a melting pot. But it's not. It's more like … a sundae. We're all mixed up together, and everyone wants to be the cherry on top. Every group is constantly in a power struggle, and it's keeping us from any kind of unity. Despite our different backgrounds, we're all Americans, and we all deserve the right to participate in government. If we neglect to help new Latino citizens participate by incorporating Spanish in our legislature, we're not allowing them to become involved in democracy.