English as the Officlal Language of USA

Almost 250 years (249 to be exact) have gone since USA declared independence. But until now there is no official language for the USA. Trump, with one Executive Order, made English as the official language of the USA. I do not like many things that Trump is doing but this one I have to give him credit. Plus, I do not see any “protest”. 

Members of Congress and Senators in the past (and present) were afraid to bring this subject. They don’t want to antagonize the voters. I have seen voting pamphlets and voting ballots are now issued in several languages depending on the population of that area. In the San Francisco Bay Area, where there are large number of Indians, voting materials are in several Indian languages including Punjabi, Hindi, Bengali, and Tamil. And, of course, Spanish and Arabic. 

There are street signs in English and Spanish. Also, in pharmacies and hospitals. 

After English, Spanish is the second largest language spoken in USA. The population of Spanish speaking people are growing leaps and bounds. 

Majority of the high school students take Spanish as their second language. 

Some politicians tried to make English as the official language. Notable among them was Late Republican Senator from California Mr. Hayakawa. He was a U.S. Senator from 1968 to 1973. He did not get enough support at that time. However, during the recently concluded elections (in November 2024), 30 States have voted to make English as their official language. 

I have been advocating to make English as the official language of the United States for a long time. I know the increase in the population and popularity of Spanish speaking people and I thought someday there would be an agitation to make Spanish as the official language of the USA. 

Epilogue. (Is this the right word to use? I don’t know. I never went to Harvard). I have seen and personally experienced the Hindi agitation in Tamil Nadu when I was a student. Many people died. My thoughts are if Hindi OR English had been declared as the official language of India on August 15, 1947, then everything would have been OK in India.