I am of the opinion that a minimum standard for English should be a qualification for citizenship. If one can't meet that standard (which would be functional rather than proficient) they should not be permitted residence. English should also be regularly used for language and signage. If you can't read the ballot in English then don't vote. Allowing people to form pockets of society removed from greater society only allows for greater confusion and alienation. I propose that alienation may be The State's greatest problem.

@rainmanjr Makes lots of sense but too many 'bleeding hearts' (as well as corporations and religious groups) think we are a land of unlimited resources and should let anyone in who is willing to work and/or desperate. I once attended a Seattle Town Hall meeting about whether English should be declared the main language. The large room was divided into the yes and no people. Two spokespeople for the no side were two Latino men who constantly pushed the racist card. Two on the yes side were women and one was an Asian woman who worked for the UN. She said it is normal for countries to declare a common language and some, Like Switzerland, had several. The other one represented the Seattle School District. She said there were some 150 languages spoken in the district. Many languages were obscure languages and the district had a lot of trouble with their language needs. The rules regulating IA (instructor assistants) were often tossed aside with the only requirement being able to speak that language. Translators needed to be found, night school classes for the parents to learn the language needed to be created, paperwork in the various languages needed to be created and on and on. She said so much money was needed that money was being diverted from the 'special ed' classes (which involves everyone including immigrants). My late partner was an elementary teacher for an international public school and constantly had problems with parents, who were often in this country for many years and still didn't speak the language. She would tell the mothers that when their kids became teenagers and had friends over they could talk to their friends and the parents had no idea what they were saying.

@jackjr I am a liberal but not a bleeding heart one. This reluctance to set any community standard for all, and bickering over every distinction of species rather than uniting under one umbrella for Human Rights, has caused great anger among many but the bleeding hearts (justified by calls for empathy, causing greater anger among those who are now told they are inhuman) will not drop their tribal mindsets and expand some mental horizons. SMH. The story of Babel should have greater awareness as it attempts to explain the importance of common language. When the citizens of Babel lost that commonality they split up and formed the 12 Tribes. Thus began the tribal mindsets.

@rainmanjr Unfortunately, it seems an impossible task to be able to set any standards for human rights (if we can't even set standards for the rights of our own species how can we start to include other species?). More and more extremism raises it's ugly head. To me 'bleeding heart' simply refers to putting humans at the forefront despite the fact this attitude also causes great harm for many humans. The idea of an open border, in the end, will destroy the country. There seems to be more 'heart (emotions) in their philosophy than head (reason). Absolutely, the story of Babel, even though it's a biblical story, is absolutely applicable here and today. Too many cook can and do spoil the broth!

In many cases it has.

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Yes, it would. I agree with the assertion that people like being led.

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