I am no longer a Nashvillian, but if I were I would vote against the "English Only" amendment, or whatever those crazy kids are calling it these days. I have a lot of reasons, but here are a few off the top of my head:
1. It is unnecessary. I don't about you, but every time I go into Nashville, everyone still seems to be speaking English, just as they they were when I lived there. Not the King's English, necessarily, but English just the same.
2. It's a waste of time and money. We already had to waste time and money having a special election to fill Ronnie Steine's seat way back when. This is equally appalling. Actually, it's more appalling, because at least then you got the psychic thrill of watching Steine, never one to shy away from turning up his nose at people he considers inferior beings, get whacked around a bit.
3. Even Buck Dozier thinks this is a stupid idea. Buck Dozier.
4. Telling people they have to do something is often the least effective way to get them to do it. Immigrants will learn English for the same reason they always have, because they have to function on a day-to-day basis. They're not going to learn it because there's some law written somewhere saying so. There are a lot of speed limit signs on the roadways, too. How are those working out?
5. It smacks of the worst kind of political fetishism that has infected segments of the right over the past few years. It's small, narrow-minded and with no big picture perspective. And ultimately pointless.
But what do I care? I'm a Williamson Countian now. Maybe over lunch I'll head over to Nissan headquarters and ask them their opinions on passing similar "English Only" mandate over here. I'm sure they'd really appreciate it. After all, they need us more than we need them, right?
