Why not English?

The West Virginia Legislature is again considering whether English should be the official state language. And, once again, we say yes. We've never understood the arguments against it. Most of the countries in the world have an official language for government and commerce, and no one thinks twice about it.

But if this session plays out like previous ones, the State Senate will pass the measure while the House of Delegates will fall into a Tower of Babel jumble and the idea will die.

How can the people of a state or nation communicate, debate public policies and share in a common heritage if they don't even speak the same language?

Those who refuse to accept this are actually the ones who, for their own political or cultural reasons, are relegating non-English speakers to second class lives in this country and rejecting the melting pot theory of America.