English-Only Debated - Essay Example

English-Only Debated Several argumentative have been advanced towards Cultural resistance as a practice whereby meaningsand symbols, that is, culture, are used to contest and combat a dominant power, and specifically constructing a different vision of the world and America in particular in the process. It can also be defined as an easily accessible artistic mode of expression that points out, in a wide range of mediums, criticisms and oppositions to social, political ,economic or other circumstances in the community that are of high concern (Duncombe, 4-5). Consequently, cultural resistance mainly intends to raise awareness of the issue and then calls for justice on the part of the oppressed, this implies that it exist for a reason and not just for the sake of sympathy or pity. This article addresses creative cultural resistance in the American society with focus on English language There has been a raging debate on cultural dissent and language in regard to what it mean for one to say, “I am American?” The law provides these answers in technical sense: as to be one that falls under a statutory or constitutional category having full participation and membership rights in the American polity (Del 55). The main ones, with few minor exceptions, are birth within the United States, birth to American parents overseas, and legal naturalization, all regulated by the federal government. If this is the case why do when family, friends, co-workers, and or even our general acquaintances refer to themselves as who they are, the response is too often either Italian, Irish, German, Greek, or French and so on, however, in reality they're not, they’re simply American. This false mindset of what people perceive themselves to be leads to a stronger divide, separation, and cultural resistance between the people within our society both politically and culturally, while deteriorating the true identity and morals of what it means to be an American which can be found deep as its foundation. In spite of this, calling oneself “Irish” can give way to a sense of pride and belonging to a unique nation, with a heritage of great deeds and tragic flaws, a set of ideals, and a singularly commanding and demanding position in today’s world. As discussed by Rogers M. Smith, for many Americans alike, the sentence “I am Irish” is also a revelation of their sense of attachment at the deepest emotional level to unique culture and moral standards. It has then much more than merely legal meaning; it evokes a statement of political and personal identity that is complex, powerful, and often contradictory to the ideas and sentiments for both American and non-Americans similarly (Del 55). Retrospectively, this divides our country; the false sense of attachment due to pride drives both natives and immigrants towards specific towns or counties while steering them away from others. The culture and customs of one's heritage often differs greatly between an American native and ones ancestry within a home country. Since the United States is an immigrant society, putting as much of your message as possible into words is important in order to let people know where one is coming from. People try to remove the possibility of misassumptions as they believe everyone is different and the degree which they are involved in the majority culture varies (Jasper, 19-25). The Japanese view their country differently; they’re racially and culturally homogeneous with a long history of tradition, so it is assumed that everyone knows and will play by the unspoken rules of the majority culture. The two cultures are both different from each other while have very little in common. When Japanese-Americans refer to themselves as Japanese they’re merely holding themselves to a lie. More than forty percent of the population of Japanese immigrants predominantly resides in Hawaii and despite gigantic differences in cultural tradition and descent the majority continues to call themselves Japanese. Rather than United States citizens, such as the Japanese-Americans, referring to themselves as Americans, the conception that they still are in fact Japanese leads to false view and perspective of themselves due to assimilation in English speaking. This flawed outlook is just one example within the United States that leads to further separation among people and ideology. As have been previously stated, English as first language cultural resistance may take a variety of forms at both large and small scales. Many successful acts of cultural resistance are shared by participants for instance, reclamation and occupation of contested sites, installations, puppet shows, museums, and videos of solidarity but arguments posed by language theorists is worth its course (Jasper, 19-25). Some acts of the resistance act struggled with criticisms and government censorship and criticism that the works are more personal. In the name of language debate, many scholars still calls this concept American while the United States Constitution preaches equality. The mindset of the “Great White America” is scary, irrational, but real; one can see by his actions truly how divided people can become by the falseness of one's ideology of whom they are and where they live. Brutt-Griffler claims that English remains the unifying factor when it comes to the American community. According to Brutt-Griffler, a White America fanatic and writer, describes English language law intentions as the dream of a “White Homeland”, in which it’s people, principles, and traditions can survive and thrive in the town in North Dakota and is a solution to the “growing multicultural nightmare that is facing White America.” However merely the term “White America” doesn't even make sense at all(Brutt-Griffler,et al.24). “White” simply cannot be a defining word when describing America as the nation it is; the United States prides itself upon social, religious, and racial freedom while, according to the news and media outlet website “The Vancouver Sun”, it is today the most diverse country in the world. In mid-November Cobb agreed to take a DNA test while having the results announced live nationally on Trish Goddard’s talk show on NBC. “Eighty-six percent European and,” Goddard said pausing as the audience started to cheer before she continued, “14 percent sub-Saharan African!” As Cobb’s extremist views hold race in the highest regard for the future of the United States he neglects the veracity of what it means to be an American and this is part of the language. Cobb goes against the truths found at the foundation of the United States made by our founding fathers, that “all men are created equal” disregarding the American morals, principles, and ideals while praising and abiding by ones found at the backbone of a different nation deteriorates nationalism and our once beloved melting pot. The egotistic devotion to another nation, other than one’s own, while living within the United States results in the hindrance and jamming of overall cultural spread and dissent with emphasis on language command. As American look back at the values behind the Progressive era during President Woodrow Wilson’s sovereignty, it sheds light upon the more cosmopolitan and liberal conception of American English. He articulated in a 1915 address to newly naturalized citizens who just swore allegiance to the United States his realigned form of citizenship. Wilson told the new Americans that they had vowed loyalty “to no one,” on to “a great ideal, to a great body of principles, to a great hope of the human race.” He urged them to think of America, but to “think first of humanity,” so as not to divide people into nationalistic “jealous camps.” (Smith) Wilson know, when Americans falsely perceive themselves to be a different nationality or hold faith in a separate nation, the separation and division of United States citizens and their morals is inevitable. There are major language inconsistencies between different cultures within the United States; they’re extremely prevalent and widening. When the American people have the perception that one is either Irish-American, Japanese-American, superior than others upon the basis of race, or anything other than their true American nationality, we can see from the bigger picture that people are sorting themselves into communities and towns (Brutt-Griffler,et al.14). A trend making national consensus furthermore elusive. Since many fundamental values and ideals of how a society should be modeled are not compatible, there’s no way to devise a compromise where everyone's going to be happy. If United States citizens dropped their egotistic mindsets of where their ancestors once came from generations ago, the blending of different cultural ideas with central focus on English language, rights, and liberties would prevail. With the widespread of cultural pluralism separate ideology could be heard, debated, and developed. Then just maybe the United States would be able to devise a compromise where everyone’s grumbly, but can live with it. Works cited Brutt-Griffler, Janina, and Manka Varghese. Bilingualism and Language Pedagogy. Clevedon [u.a.: Multilingual Matters, 2004. Print. Del, Valle S. Language Rights and the Law in the United States: Finding Our Voices. Clevedon [u.a.: Multilingual Matters, 2003. Print. Duncombe, Stephen. Cultural Resistance Reader. London [u.a.: Verso, 2002. Print. Read More