I was impressed to read in NashvillePost.com this afternoon that Mayor Purcell vetoed the English-only ordinance that passed Metro Council.
Here’s what disturbs me about the concept of English First: It is basically the opposite of what came to be known as southern hospitality, wherein southerners feel comfortable waving to strangers and welcoming all kinds of folk at the dinner table. Obviously there have been glaring exceptions to this notion in the South, but English First says to newcomers, “We don’t want you unless you’re already pretty damn much like us.” There’s no provision for welcoming first and allowing whatever level of assimilation follows to come later.
That’s why on today’s show I raised the notion of English Next. In essence, Metro should actively involve citizens, both English-speaking and non-, in a common mission to strengthen our community. Here’s how this might look: We work non-invasively to identify non-English speakers, find volunteers who can assist with translation, conduct events that could bring multiple native language speakers together, and have highly visible English classes, some of which could be taught by the same volunteers. We engage our existing community to welcome new members, not all of whom will come to the table with the same advantages, skills, or interests. But if we demonstrate that we’re willing to meet these folks halfway (or even more than halfway), I suspect that the participation will be mutual in the majority of cases.
English Next should include an expectation and encouragement of non-English speakers to gain a minimum fluency in English. While I recognize that we don’t have an official national language, I also recognize that English is a common and important function of living and working in the United States. But I’ve also personally witnessed the cultural arrogance of my fellow Americans traveling in other countries, where the citizens often bend over backwards to accommodate English speakers. Nashville would stand to experience economic benefit both from tourism as well as in our local job market if we were able to demonstrate a tolerant and supportive environment to people specifically wanting to live here.
There is no reason that we should derive fear or resentment from people who might not look exactly like or talk exactly like us. Instead of lamenting the flow of state resources to people we think are undeserving, we should focus on investing our revenues in ways that are likely to make us less resentful. These are exactly the folks we should welcome to the empty seats at our picnic table so that we might learn from one another and engage in cultural exchange. Unless we’ve lost our claim to southern hospitality.
