During this upcoming Independence Day, we need to honor and remember the soldiers who are risking their lives for us. Whether it's a soldier on the front lines or one in peace times, their sacrifice for America is great with a heavy price.
Freedom, liberties and all the values we cherish as Americans aren't to be taken lightly or for granted. I had two friends give their lives in Iraq.
Lance Cpl. Alex Arredondo and Cpl. Tim Gibson gave their lives in our name. It doesn't matter if we agree why we are in the Middle East; it's our responsibility as Americans to show support for our soldiers.
I take the support further by supporting making English the official language of the United States because it is Americans like Alex and Tim who are fighting to preserve our freedom and to that end, we must unite on July 4th to encourage every new person coming to live in this country to learn English.
In addition to liberties, our business environment suffers when immigrants don’t take a responsible effort to learn the English language. I don’t believe it is government’s role to expend taxpayers' money to teach them. I believe there are churches and not-for-profits to accommodate and bear that expense.
According to a report authored and published by Don Soifer of The Lexington Institute , the estimate of lost annual wages due to poor English language skills may exceed $ 65 billion. In the same report, noted educators Patricia Gandara and Megan Hopkins of UCLA, report and document additional valid points worth reading.
Don Soifer adds that it takes the average English learner more than ten years in public schools to learn enough English to be moved into the mainstream by being redesignated as proficient. “Statistically, such children are more likely to drop out of school than ever to become proficient in English”, cites Soifer.
Needless to say, if there are fewer workers in “legitimate” working environments, the contributions to Social Security and Medicare are far less. Additionally, if the lack of English proficiency reduces earning power, then contributions are further reduced in an overall economic system.
In the current attempt or movement to make English our official language, there is nothing said about immigrants having to forget their native tongue, culture or heritage, just a sincere request that they take an earnest approach to learn English.
I don't believe my friends and the countless other soldiers who gave their lives and who are fighting to this day are fighting to have our language become second string when one deals with our levels of government.
Please support our troops and our country by contacting your lawmaker and urge them to support making English our official language. The benefits are exponentially rewarding for our country.
Please join me on my Blog and Twitter accounts, www.proenglishusa.blogspot.com and www.twitter.com/proenglishusa, respectively.
Eddie V Garcia
Advisory Board Member
Pro English
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