Melting Pot or Mess Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Melting Pot or Mess - Essay ExampleTo some, it may seem sensible to tighten American borders, to remove those from the countrified who are here illegally, and to enforce a stricter sense of security throughout the nation. However, there is no realistic way to do this. Immigration foes who realize this see then put forth another, easier barrier against the hostile hordes proposing legislation to make side the official language of the United States.Mauro Mujica is one of the supporters of the movement to make position the American language. He cited in his research polls that show that, throughout the developed world, over 90% of adults believe that marking English is necessary for children to succeed. Because English is the language of business, higher education, diplomacy, aviation, the Internet, and science(Mujica 1) among other fields, it is something that every child must learn. Mujica asserts two reasons why such an already pervasive language should be make the official lang uage of the United States.First, governments that provide bilingual services ultimately create linguistic ghettos that immigrants cannot escape. Mujica cites the 2000 census results that showed over 21 million Americans classified as limited English proficient - almost 8% of the population (Mujica 2). When children grow up in homes where they are not required to learn English, they struggle receiving a basic elementary education in American schools, and are relegated to the economic opportunities left to those who cannot speak English.Second, the cost of multilingual accommodation is an unfair burden on the rest of society. Mujica cites the billions of dollars spent annually on multilingual education the fact that 15% of Los Angeles Countys election budget goes to multilingual ballots and poll workers traffic accidents caused by foreign drivers not understanding English instructions and warnings (Mujica 3-4). It would seem that accommodating other languages is not an option that Ame ricans can afford.However, given the fact that immigrants are not breathing out to just up and leave, just like their predecessors from Italy, Germany, Ireland and Poland did not leave in the face of prejudice in the early 1900s, it can be argued that denying speakers of other languages doorway to government services could be even more costly than accommodating them is. Thomas Ricento agrees with Mujicas assertion that English is the language of success he asserts that immigrants want to learn English as a supplement to their own languages, not as a replacement. He sees the linguistic enclaves not as ghettos but as nurturing communities providing a link between the old culture and the American one, much like the old neighborhoods in Northeastern cities that used to be separated by variable European backgrounds (Ricento 3). Additionally, while short-term social costs might decline if multilingual services were removed, the longer-term costs would skyrocket. Immigrants would not le ave the country but would quite let health problems worsen, leading to higher medical costs their children might be forced out of their schools but would then cause problems later on as unemployed, uneducated adults (Ricento 5).Governor William Dempster Hoard of Wisconsin had this to say about the right of children to education in English The child