As a believer in Jesus Christ, I am bound to offer help, condolence, support and empathy to my fellow brother and sister regardless of their religion.

As a member of the human race, I am bound by the same attributes but with the added responsibility of ensuring I do my part by using the God given talents to make our society safer, productive and more cohesive.

As a three-year old, my parents and I came to the United States of America through legal means and I am grateful not only to the country that extended its arms and embraced us as foreigners, but to its people who welcomed us.

These new people, the masses of new friends, often came in contact with us, but the communication was slow, it was difficult and through gestures we were able to make some connection, but it wasn’t anything until we learned English.

When that happened, a whole new world opened up.

Yes, learning a new language was difficult. Easier for me as a child and harder for my parents, but their drive for a better life fueled the need and those difficult days of hard work and the struggles as an immigrant and struggles learning a new language.

Human nature tells us to set aside or give up on what is difficult. We may come back to it, but it sure is easier to keep putting it off. There is nothing wrong with helping another person. But to me, helping is giving them a nudge. Giving them the tools for them to be self-sustaining. Helping is not enabling, pandering or coddling them to the point that they are too comfortable and lose their innate ability to want to succeed or survive.

As a father, there is nothing more than to give my daughter everything she wants and to make things easier for her. But I know that to hold back in doing that, although the pain it may cause me, she will learn a lesson, she will come to appreciate hard work, she will become a stronger and independent woman and she will benefit greatly from the fruits of her labor.

Although good intentioned, when government provides translators and translated documents, it erodes the incentive to learn English. I say English; because it is the language we speak in the United States of America.

I recently read a quote from a new archbishop in Florida named by the Pope. He began his quote by saying, “the dignity of a human person entails…..”

As I read that, I couldn’t help but recall that as a child, neighbors and friends who were American would often say, “Eddie, keep plugging away at English. Learn the words, how to use them, when to use them and someday you will look back at all the tears, the pain and the feeling of isolation because you couldn’t understand others and say—“I am now part of America and can communicate with others.”

Just as the tears of joy roll down cheeks when the first family member graduates from high school or college, the immense joy and sense of relief that envelopes a human person when they become part of a new culture, a new country is beyond words—in any language!

As an American, I have the right to cast my opinion and regarding teaching English, I believe bilingual education is doing a great disservice to immigrant children. The comfort level they nurture in a similar speaking environment (bilingual classrooms) creates a false sense of accomplishment.

The little exposure to English they get in a classroom cannot compare or provide an adequate level of confidence when they are in the real world. Trust me, I know it has to be frustrating. I walked in those torn, second-hand shoes.

My support for making the Tennessee driver’s license exam administered solely in English is a simple position. But when the opposition interjects innuendos, fear-mongering, that the world will collapse, it is a saddening tactic by them.

I can’t help but wonder what their true motive is in not doing everything to encourage immigrants to learn English. Why isn’t the chambers of commerce and mayors rolling up their sleeves and using their connections, power and wealth to fund English classes for immigrants? Why pass the “buck” to smaller organizations, not-for-profits that already struggle to keep doors open? Why have they discounted the Santa Ana, CA. chamber’s “English Works” ESL program?

Not to speak for any immigrant group or anyone else but myself and I am qualified to say this because I am an immigrant and would gladly debate anyone on the merits and provable points in the discussion of what an immigrant faces.

If it is enacted, one of the positive and life-lasting effects of Senate Bill 63/House Bill 262 that has been advancing in the Tennessee General Assembly will be to encourage immigrants to learn English in order to pass a driver’s license exam in English. As a few people know, it often takes legislative action to get the ball rolling to make positive and ever-lasting changes in one’s life and society as a whole.

Take for example, the seat-belt enforcement campaign. We all know that using seat belts saves lives. But many still don’t click-it. So government, the legislative arm, enacts strict enforcement and use of seat belts by assigning fines.

But yet, in many states, enforcing this law was a secondary not a primary enforcement act by law enforcement. Meaning, an officer had to pull one over for another infraction to give out a citation for not wearing a seat belt. Well, the underlying and greater force of enacting primary versus secondary is to demonstrate that using seat belts does save lives.

If the greater force of passing HB 262/SB 63 is to give immigrants a definitive reason to learn English, their future will be much better and more productive, our community and society will be more cohesive and productive and our roads will be safer.

And as Tennessee state Rep. Sherry Jones said from the dais regarding HB 3206, "....it is times of dire straits and families are needing to feed children so we need to tap into the state's treasury for unemployment benefits." Well, she couldn't have been more articulate about taping the treasury. Why would this legislature continue to spend in excess of $ 250,000 funding multiple languages on a driver's license exam, depleting the state's treasury when as Rep. Jones said, "families are starving, people are getting laid off and people can't find jobs."

To me, a true leader, a statesman in a political leadership role tackles the difficult issues. Issues that are not sensitive, emo-driven or nonsensical. But issues of true and accurate substance. A true political leader sees the future and aligns policy for the overall good of the community. The community as a whole, not a segment.

Recognize the dignity of a human person by encouraging them to keep fighting the fight, keep steadfast in achieving a goal, but don’t extinguish that innate fire to learn, to succeed by enabling, coddling and “make things too easy”.

When the latter is employed, the very nature of the act dilutes the dignity and self-esteem of a human person.

Eddie V Garcia, American

Tennessee

Advisory Board Member

ProEnglish