[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 125 (Thursday, September 12, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1598]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




[[Page E1598]]



               AMERICA: A MELTING POT OR A TOWER OF BABEL

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                             HON. TOBY ROTH

                              of wisconsin

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 12, 1996

  Mr. ROTH. Mr. Speaker, just before we recessed, this Congress finally 
began to show as much sense as the American people by overwhelmingly 
passing our bill to make English the official language of the United 
States. Make no mistake; this was an historic accomplishment. For the 
first time in over two decades, Congress has helped cement our national 
unity by reinforcing our most important common bond, the English 
language. After 25 years of Great Society social experimentation, we 
are finally starting to reverse the tide. That historic vote we cast on 
the first of August was the first step towards returning to a common 
sense policy of promoting American unity by promoting the teaching and 
learning of English.
  But the battle has just begun. There is still so much more left to be 
done, starting with the Senate acting on the bill we passed here in the 
House and sending an official English bill to the President for his 
signature.
  A friend of mine from California, Tom Hanson of the Southern 
California Republican Women organization, expressed very clearly why we 
need to make English our official language in an article he wrote for 
their newsletter. I would like the text of his article to appear in the 
Congressional Record at this point.

               America: A Melting Pot or a Tower of Babel

                         (By Thomas E. Hanson)

       The American people are confronted with a very simple but 
     extremely important choice: should the United States once 
     again become the Melting Pot it once was, or should it 
     continue becoming the modern day tower of Babel?
       Our nation became great because our people, while hailing 
     from many cultures, joined together to live and work together 
     for their individual and mutual benefit. They were in the 
     United States to be Americans, not hyphenated Americans. The 
     key to America's success was and has been the ability of its 
     people to clearly and easily communicate with each other, 
     anywhere in the nation, through a single common language.
       During recent years, however, there are some in the United 
     States who have embarked on a course that promotes personal 
     and group interests at the expense of their country. The 
     United States is rapidly becoming a country of tribes that do 
     not, and cannot, fluidly speak to with each other in a common 
     language. America is fast becoming a nation divided, a 
     condition that has been and is being perpetuated by the 
     misguided disguise of a bilingual society.
       When the people of a nation cannot easily talk to each 
     other in a common tongue, they will no longer be able to live 
     and work together. Is the United States going to be a Melting 
     Pot or a Tower of Babel?

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