Rev. Rodney Beard on English Only

Posted by admin on January 5, 2009

I love Nashville! I also understand the frustration surrounding local immigration issues and have even shared some popular sentiments a time or two. But I cannot, in good conscience, support the English Only initiative. I personally feel that the quality of socially diverse beauty that I have witnessed with my own eyes for the last 19 years would be negatively and irreparably impacted for years to come.

Nashville is such a great town and surrounding community to live in. But the English Only initiative would cast a very dim cloud over the essence of what makes us such a rich blend of community, acceptance, creativity, honor, fun, character, diversity and of course love. In my experience, we are at our heart, a loving and caring community. In all probability, more songs and poems of love, hope and God have come from the heart of this town than any other in the world.

So the English Only issue sends a very different and negatively mixed message to the world that we, as a people, cannot relish in or be proud of someday, but on the contrary, become horribly ashamed of. Though well intentioned, this effort now looks mean-spirited and targeted at a very specific group. But at the worst, it speaks of darker possibilities that could incite and divide our communities along the lines of race, bigotry, hate and intolerance for those who cannot speak “our language.” We just witnessed during the Presidential election how easy it is to polarize our communities based on race, ethnicity and culture. But after this, what would we undertake to attack together through a vote next?

Wouldn’t the money we spend fighting this be better spent by providing more English as Second Language classes in our schools, churches and community centers? Would it not be more profitable during these challenging times to pull together to strengthen our communities by providing the necessary tools we all need to make diversity work for us, rather than exploit us on a global level? Why don’t we stop and think about what is best for all Tennesseans and unite for a positive and more common purpose that sends a message about who we really are instead?

Rodney Beard is the pastor of the Living Word Community Church in Antioch, TN