Building Bridges in Carpentersville

By Jocelyn Geboy in News on Mar 7, 2007 6:36PM

So, over in Carpentersville, a couple of trustees want English to be the official language. That's pretty much it. But we have to say, every time we read about something like this, we just get sort of irritated-borderline-pissed. Frankly, it wouldn't affect us; we speak and write American English. However, there's just something about it that screams "play my game or go home." And that kind of shit we've never stood for.

For instance, Carpentersville resident Jason Arrington is quoted as saying, "You should learn English. I think that's the natural way of doing things. I'm here in the United States, you should learn English no matter what." Hmm. The "natural way of doing things?" To whom? The animals? The people in the Bible? The guy narrating on the Discovery Channel?

It's this kind of arrogance that just wipes out any possible argument one could ever come up with for this kind of ordinance. Not to mention, it doesn't seem society is crumbling under the current system. God knows most people we run into can't speak their own language anyway — if we make it official, does it mean we get to enforce the right way to speak the language, then? We think it's a crime to say "irregardless" and "supposebly." Maybe we can start handing out fines for that, too.

"Dictionaries" by jovike.