| Crafton's English petition |
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Vijay Kumar's response to Gail Kerr's article in Tennesean.com about Crafton's English petition. Gail Kerr uses over-the-top hyperbole and personal insults rather than reasoned discussion in “Crafton's English petition is a big waste,” in Sunday’s Tennessean (June 15th). It is obvious she is not thinking through the issue, but offering a purely emotional response under the guise of professional journalism. It is unfortunate The Tennessean has chosen to allow this kind of childishness in its pages. As a native of India, where many languages are spoken, perhaps I can understand better than Gail Kerr, the value of having one official language for the social cohesion and stability of our nation. Our founding fathers never dreamed such a measure would be necessary and Ms. Kerr’s screams of unconstitutionality are premature. We, as a nation, are just beginning to have this debate. The genius of American culture has always been its ability to assimilate the best from other cultures while maintaining a homogeneity that breeds intelligent patriotism and cultural confidence. A common language acts as cultural glue, binding our citizens together. Multiple languages can only increase the alienation of our immigrants, retarding the integration process, and leading to the further disintegration of our society and the erosion of our confidence as a nation. But rather than dealing with these serious issues, Ms. Kerr resorted to unseemly name calling, referring to Mr. Crafton as "Councilman Crapton” and smearing him unfairly and without warrant as a “racist.” Then she goes on to offer scare tactics of her own. First, that if Councilman Crafton’s referendum were to pass, Nashville might be regarded as “the home of ignorant rednecks.” As an Indian immigrant, and supporter of this measure, I can say with certainty this is not something that keeps me up at night. Second, she throws up the possibility that this law, if adopted, may be challenged in our courts and that this process would use “tax dollars,” completely ignoring the enormous costs to taxpayers of printing official documents in multiple languages, hiring multiple translators and so on. Which would be the greater cost? Clearly the latter, so her argument is mute. Thirdly, she brings up the fact that a Spanish speaking man identified a murderer who nearly killed him. Kerr’s implication is that somehow he would have been unable to do so if official State documents were required to be printed in English alone. Such shallow and specious reasoning is unfit for a high school civics paper. This level of journalism is unworthy of a respected newspaper like The Tennessean. One would hope your editorial board will do a better review of Ms. Kerr’s work in the future. Sincerely, Vijay Kumar |
