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Opinion Across The Fence Ballots should not be bilingual I went to vote early Tuesday morning. It's an exercise I enjoy, and there's a certain amount of pride in knowing that I'm engaged in the democratic process as a citizen of the United States of America.
But when I stepped up to the voting booth, the monitor's question made me see red. And I'm not talking about the color that's generally used to designate states that vote Republican; I'm talking about raw anger. The question was whether I wanted my ballot printed in English or Spanish. My objection doesn't have anything to do with the Spanish language, which I speak and read. It centers on the requirements for citizenship in this country, and the fact that citizenship is the primary requirement for voter eligibility. To become a citizen, an individual must be able to read, write, speak and understand words in ordinary usage in the English language. There are some exemptions for mastery of the language. Most of them apply to older individuals who obviously might have more difficulty learning a new language than the younger crowd. But those people don't make up large segments of our citizenry. So why are we spending all that extra money to print ballots in two languages? The answer rests in Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act of 1975. It requires local jurisdictions to provide bilingual ballots and election materials if more than 5 percent of the voting age population or at least 10,000 citizens fall into a certain language minority group. The illiteracy rate of the minority group must also be higher than the national average. Proponents of bilingual ballots argue that the language used on the ballots may be too confusing for individuals whose command of English is somewhat limited. Opponents cite the language requirement for citizenship and pose the additional argument that it imposes unnecessary expenses on the states. I'm against bilingual balloting, but my reason is tied to a deeper philosophical position about what it means to be an American and what is happening to that ideology. Most people of my generation will remember learning that America was the great "Melting Pot." Our ancestors came from all over the world and once here they came together to create a new culture and identity: Americans. Our traceable ancestry was often thrown into a cultural blender and certain ethnic traditions were combined to create something that was special and unique: American. The roots of our family tree spread out across continents and branches often included Irish, Italian, Scottish, English, Scandinavian, German, Asian, Blacks, Hispanics and the indigenous people we used to identify as Indians, and who are now American Indians. We shared a common language, and it was the language of our land and our school systems. First-generation immigrants often struggled with the language, but they were insistent that their children learn and use English. The language we used in school gave us something in common, even if our skin tones, family traditions or style of dress was different. We were individuals, for sure, but we also took great pride in sharing our status: Americans. That common ground has been seriously eroded. It begins with the way we are identifying ourselves and it focuses on our differences: Native Americans, Black Americans, Jewish Americans, Italian Americans, Asian Americans and Hispanics. The pollsters and politicians are taking it to extremes during this election year, breaking down the voter demographics not only along age and gender lines, but also by ethnicity. They've projected that black voters will lean toward Barack Obama not so much on the weight of his message, his talent or experience, but the fact that he happens to be black. The same thing has happened with regard to Hispanic voters. I've heard pundits questioning whether Obama would be able to overcome the differences between Blacks and Hispanics to gain those votes. Those of us who grew up in the 1950s and 1960s remember the Civil Rights Movement and the struggle to bring this nation out of discrimination and grow to become a place where everyone's civil rights were equal and protected. Now, I see us moving in the opposite direction, back along lines of division. America shouldn't go back. It's time to stop dividing ourselves into Red states and Blue states. It's time to stop identifying ourselves as Blacks, Whites, Asians and Hispanics and to reach again for the things we hold in common, and that we hold dear as Americans. Our language binds us together, and as we vote for the individuals who will lead us, we should all be using that common language to cast our ballots. Kathie Greer: Columnist and consultant for the Amarillo Independent. She can be reached at kathie@amarilloindy.com. E-mail
comments about this story Posted: March 6, 2008
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