Letter: English must be understood to vote properly

Monday, Oct. 25, 2004 | 9:07 a.m.

Hardly a day goes by now when someone doesn't complain that our election ballot is printed in both English and Spanish. This aspect concerns me least because it represents the end result, not the fundamental problem. Of greater concern is our English language comprehension requirement for granting citizenship.

In order to make informed choices, all citizens, especially voters, should have a reasonable written and verbal comprehension of English. When someone is granted citizenship here, this must not only be mandatory, but strictly enforced. Today, our government makes an exception by overemphasizing bilingual support requirements. We spend too much money and put too much emphasis upon language translation, verbal and written, and not enough of both on English language mastery. Why learn English when you don't need to?

Government supporting and promoting a de facto dual language dependency goes to the heart of the problem. Most political candidates, and others offering analysis of current issues, speak and write only in English. If you cannot fully understand what the person speaking English said, how can you make an informed decision? Even if every word they said was printed in Spanish, it doesn't always carry the same meaning as when you hear the inflection in someone's voice. If you don't believe this "one country with two languages" issue will become a divisive national problem, simply take a look at our Canadian neighbors.

RICHARD RYCHTARIK