Daniel Akaka: “today I rise to oppose a resolution stating that it is the Sense of the Senate that statements of national unity…”

“today I rise to oppose a resolution stating that it is the Sense of the Senate that statements of national unity, including the National Anthem, the Pledge of Allegiance, and the Oath of Allegiance sworn by new U.S. citizens should be recited or sung in English. I agree with my colleagues that English is the common language of the United States and I join with them in urging all people who come to the U.S. and those who want to become U.S. citizens to learn the English language and understand our culture. Conversely, I believe the U.S. would benefit if its citizens knew the languages and cultures of other nations. We must develop long-term relationships with people throughout the world and learn to speak other languages, whether or not the languages spoken are considered critical for a particular situation or emergency. As 9/11 showed us, the failures of communication can do swift damage. S. Res. 458 acknowledges that the vast majority of Americans are immigrants or descendants of immigrants, and that millions of Americans speak or study other languages. It further states that despite the linguistic and historic cultural diversity of the nation we are all Americans and our common language is English. However, even though English is our common language, the State Department offers translations of the National Anthem, the U.S. Constitution, the Pledge of Allegiance, and other U.S.…”