With a $3 billion state budget deficit and high unemployment, you would think that lawmakers would have better things to do than invent meaningless new amendments to the state Constitution. Freshman Representative Kelly Hastings (R-Gaston) has introduced legislation for a constitutional amendment to make English the official language of North Carolina.
Never mind that English already is the state’s official language. As Laura Leslie of WRAL puts it, “It’s not clear what House Bill 475 would do, aside from drawing the Republican base to the polls, since it specifically says it would not supersede anyone’s rights under the U.S. or NC Constitution.”
You have to see this to believe it:
Really?
- When asked why it is necessary to make this a Constitutional amendment, Rep. Hastings said that he “just felt like it should be enshrined in the Constitution with an amendment.”
- When asked how many other states have similar provisions, he said: “I have no idea.” This is not a trick question; it’s standard practice for legislators to understand how other states deal with similar issues. But Rep. Hastings “felt like this was a good idea” so he is moving forward “without investigating what others have done.” By the way, it took me a couple minutes on Wikipedia to answer this question – there are 7 states with constitutional provisions and another 21, including NC, with laws on the books making English the official language.
- Rep. Hastings said that the English language is not “under threat.” Then why does the bill say that it is “intended to preserve, protect, and strengthen the English language”? What is the real purpose of this legislation? Why do we need a new constitutional amendment? It’s worth mentioning again that English already is the official language of North Carolina.
Most North Carolinians respect our Constitution enough not to change it every time a lawmaker thinks they have a good idea, without a clue about the consequences or evidence of any real need.
What do you think? Please comment below.
-Chris Liu-Beers, Program Associate
I know it is disturbing to some that Mr. Hasting’s Constitutional Amendment to secure the status of English as the Official language in North Carolina is striking a blow directly at the heart of the growing dhimmitude in this State and this Country. However, that provides a perfect picture of why it needs to be and should be done. This is only one of many reasons why it should be done, the biggest reason being that to succeed in The United States of America and to integrate into our Society it is crucial that a person have a command of the English language. I personally believe that those who protest against this kind of protecting and preserving heritage and societal fabric would be in a better situation living somewhere else. Hats off to Mr. Hastings for having the gumption to move this forward!
One widespread myth is that today’s immigrants don’t want to integrate with society. This perception is totally wrong – study after study shows that immigrants today are assimilating at the same rate or faster than previous generations. One study states that “Fears about the inability of immigrants to integrate have been present in the United States for as long as there have been immigrants.”
For example, “virtually 100 percent of the second-generation Latino Americans have mastered the English language, thus overcoming any barriers their parents suffered.”
English is and always will be the most important language in the U.S. So I don’t see any problem with offering essential information and services in additional languages for the purposes of public safety, public health, etc.
For anyone serious about helping immigrants integrate and succeed, one of the best ways would be to keep community colleges available to all students who graduated from NC high schools, even if they are undocumented.
Chris Liu-Beers, Program Associate
Please explain to me why you are posting this on the NC Council of Churches website. This has nothing to do with religion. To use this “religious website” to try to state your political views and to bash a politician is nothing short of shameful and pathetic
Our Christian faith is all about loving God and loving our neighbors. And as the Apostle Paul reminds us in I Corinthians 12, “God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.”
Immigrants are our brothers and sisters too, and when they suffer at the hands of misguided policies, we are compelled to speak out. Our religion is about more than private spirituality, it’s about how we live together and care for one another because of God’s love for us.
Chris Liu-Beers, Program Associate
Why does it still remain unclear to many of our Nations’s leaders, that our sons and daughters, are citizens, of whatever age, seek moral and as well as political direction. There are in the position to offer it. We, as an evolving democracy, are still learning to engage one another, accept the differences quickly being thrust upon us, struggling to hand the best principles , convictions and values to the generation succeeding us.
No doubt, some of us don’t really stop and think about our moral responsibility. We are far too focus on ego, personal agenda, a self-centered moment in time, to make a mark that has no moral merit. But then when trouble arrives at our door, along with shock and anxiety, we wonder what it is we should do? We may forget that prior to this particular crisis we were sending messages directly or by implication: in their sum, our notion of how others ought to be treated for being different.
All to often those who lead do not don’t think to pose for themselves the kind of ironic dilemmas cause by their self-centered decisions. They do not consider that everyone may not have a shrewd eye and ear for hypocrisy. For some it is not just a passing moment of no significance and political posturing. For some it is a decisive break with tolerance and mutual respect.
Politics is not suppose to be a means for encouraging bigotry or how to be irresponsive to our humanity. In a multicultural society- in a democracy, it is suppose to be a tool from which we learn to carry our fair share of something called liberty and justice for all. This comes, only, out of a genuine desire to accommodation and fulfill an American destiny by making room in our minds for others.
Representative Kelly Hastings should not use the State Constitution to provoke un-Constitutional values. His political strategy tells us a lot about his moral compass and his capacity to lead others to fairness and generosity of spirit.
Khalilah Sabra
Executive Director
Muslim America Society Immigrant Justice Center
Raleigh, North carolina