#16 The Last One (tear): revisiting #12

I spent a while pondering what do with this last entry. On my very deliberate search for something momentous enough fitting for a parting note, I came across an article that took me by surprise. A few entries back (four to be exact) I explored the topic of official national languages and how that relates (or doesn't) to the English language. My discussion boiled down to why despite an overwhelming majority speaking it, English hasn't been made the "official" national language in the United States. Although I've read several sources citing previous attempts to make this legislative law, I never seriously enterained the idea of making every piece of legislative document in the US only in English. The diversity of this country seems to exempt any notion of nationalizing a single language, and so I was extremely shocked to read the following article.

State Sen. Beason proposes English-only driver's exams
http://www.al.com/news/birminghamnews/index.ssf?/base/news/119676015549670.xml&coll=2

Recently, Senator Scott Beason of Alabama proposed a legislative bill that would make English the only language Alabama citizens could take their driver's test in. It seemed almost an incredulous proposition, especially with the 14 languages that are available now (including English, Spanish, French, German, Chinese, Russian, Korean and Japanese) in Alabama. He justifies his proposition by claiming that such a shift to a monolingual test would " improve highway safety." I was shocked that such an almost irrelevant reason could be used to justify what is obviously another act of exclusion. Beason claims that by forcing test takers to be proficient English speakers, this would lead to increased understanding of highway signs and thus reduce traffic violations and accidents. Other than being a stretch in logic (many, if not most, traffic signs are graphic or extremely simply in nature for the very purpose of easy comprehension by non native English speakers), Beason fails to see that learning english can potentially be a very arduous task for many. In the current situation, for those who have not been able to fluently communicate in English, they can at least seek comfort in gaining physical mobility, especially when they can take the driver's test in their mother tongue. By taking this option away and legally forcing another lifestyle upon immigrants and foreigners, Beason is essentially pigeon-holing them to a certain socioeconomic level, and thus perpetuating a discriminating cycle. It's also curious that given the numerous and effective multilingual model set (both on a state and national level), Beason still wants to break the mold and pass a bill that's been essentially blocked uncountable times in history.
Whether these repurcussions are known to him or not is unknown. But Beason's attemps to make English the official state language of Alabama carries weight beyond "improved highway safety." Such effects are discussed in the following article

Is having one-language test a good thing?
http://www.clantonadvertiser.com/articles/2007/12/05/opinion/for_the_record/3-editorial.txt

This editorial talks about how making English the only language of the state will " conflict with Alabama’s efforts to attract foreign manufacturers" as well as "limiting the people who are licensed to drive to just those who speak English." I agree with these stances, from both the economic and societal aspect. After all, driver's tests are supposed to forecast how well a driver we'll be, not how well of a foreign language we can master.