KISMIF
Keep It Simple, Make It Fun.
This is why people want a standard language or a national language. Should we be like Canada? I think a study of how things work in Canada with their different languages might be a good idea. So what happens if the Chinese want their communities to practice government in their language? Then what happens if growing Muslim communities what to use some other language and maybe some korean merchants want the government for them to be in Korean? Pretty soon we just seem to run amuck!
I was at a hospital a while ago and they paid some interpreter to follow someone from slovakia or wherever and interpret for them. Why should the USA pander to everyone in every language they choose to speak? If you have munues in spanish, why not aramaic, itialian, german, Korean and other languages?
I dont really know if anyone acually speaks aramaic. But the muslims must speak some language or languages. I stopped at a gas station in florida and there were some people from afghanistan that worked there speaking in some kind of odd language I did not recognize. So I just asked them what language they were speaking and they told me. At least they could speak some english.
People with multiple native languages is a normal consequence of living in a multicultural society. They're not "choosing" to speak other languages to piss you off...that's the language they likely learned to speak growing up. And as long as knowing English is required for most societal advancement in this country (which it really is), there is sufficient incentive for people who aren't native speakers to learn it.
Even if you think everyone only speaking English would be "simpler", making English the official language won't magically make that happen. For one thing, an official language can't be an individual mandate...no legislation is going to require those gas station employees in Florida stop speaking their "Muslim language" (seriously?) or make a non-English speaker needing medical care understand his doctors without an interpreter. That's not "pandering", that's what happens when you live in a nation of immigrants. People who try will eventually learn English, and for those that don't, is it really a smart idea to try to totally cut them out of society?
And this is sort of getting off-point, but I LIKE living in a country where not everyone is exactly the same. In a couple of minutes I'm going to walk a few blocks down the street and get some delicious Afghani food from a local place. As long as the people working there can understand me well enough to take my order, what the hell do I care what language they're speaking to each other?
English doesn't need any help remaining the primary language in this country, and for those few who don't speak it that well (or don't speak it that well, yet)...I don't think going after them is very useful.