The following article was written by Jaime E. Guerra in 1988. He was a copy editor with the Houston Chronicle at that time. He had grown up in El Paso, Texas where there was an outstanding public school system that served the Hispanic community very well.

His perceptive assessment of the situation of Spanish speaking immigrants within America is right on point. He realizes the rewards of quickly learning to speak English so that one might take complete advantage of the education, that in 1988, was offered to those who chose to live in America.

El Paso is also MY hometown, and growing up with a population of 85% Mexican people who understood, appreciated and partook of the educational opportunities afforded to them by the public schools where they learned English by the end of the first semester of the first grade, has made me always realize what a great thing total immersion really is for those wanting to be a part of our country. It was only when the corrupt politicians gained control, that the process was overturned, and the Mexicans were exploited.

Why Hispanics remain loyal to those who exploit them at this point in time is a mystery to me.

ENGLISH IS THE ROAD TO SUCCESS

By Jaime E. Guerra

March 27, 1988

From The Houston Chronicle Op-Ed Page

In my youth, my dad, a man of few words but remarkable common sense, told me in language I am translating to English and toning down to conform to family newspaper standards, "You can use Spanish to convince the girls to take a ride in your car, but remember, you need English to afford the car."

That was not just his way to prod me to scholastic excellence. He wanted me to understand that while Spanish is the language of love, English is the language of world commerce. Spanish may or may not be the heavenly language. I do not know. But I do know that in this country lack of fluency in English is pure hell.

English is the road used by $10-a-week, foreign-born maids to reach well-paying jobs. A Mexican gardener uses it to become like the Chicano, or like the gringo employer who pays him $2 an hour for work in someone elsle's yard and then collects $50 for watchng him cut the grass. Dishwashers use it to become restaurant owners, entrepreneurs.

The rest of the world knows the value of English. Every Sandinista leader I know of speaks it and boasts of his "American education."

The past, present and future presidents of Mexico speak it. Many Hispanic newspersons obsequiously Anglicize the pronunciation of their names. It's not that a well-pronounced Spanish word is forbidden; it's an admission that it is more profitable to speak Spanish with an accent than to speak no English.

The fuss about making English the official language of this country must have Lincoln turning in his grave. All the trouble he went through to free the slaves and [then] some people [come along] to help perpetuate slavery conditions by discouaging immigrants from learning the language that leads to rewarding employment and financial freedom.

I get mail from proponents and opponents of English as the official language. I detect ill motives in both, but find far more evil on the part of the opponents.

The self-appointed, do-gooder defenders of Spanish talk of "the success of predominantly Spanish-speaking Miami." The Batista-era Cubans, pillars of the present Miami, were typical of the aristocracy of Hispano-America--rabidly anti-Yankee but absurdly Anglicized.

They, like their parents, boasted of the "American education" they were providing their children. When they arrived in Miami, they immediately succeeded and later dominated in an English-speaking society because most were U. S. educated.

Closer to reality are the failures of predominantly Spanish-speaking El Paso, the Rio Grande Valley, and other "muy Mexicano" barrios. In these enclaves of forced adherence to Hispanic language and culture we typically find the highest rate of unemployment and the highest incidence of poverty in the nation.

In my 100 percent-Hispanic hometown, we say, "You don't leave the Third World until you leave South El Paso."

Another argument is that Hispanics need ballots in Spanish to vote. A dangerous myth. Most non-English-speaking Hispanics know more about soccer in the remotest regions of the globe than they know about affairs in their own community.

The translations of political material are ludicrous and defy all understanding. What little Hispanic print media there is seldom reports on domestic political issues. TV news and programs from Mexico City prevail and Spanish radio leans heavy toward the foreign. They all serve mostly those in the U. S. barrios who see themselves as foreigners.

The politicos love issues that isolate "their constituencies," as they call the groups they think they can put in their hip pockets. That is why Hispanic politicos defend Spanish--although most need an interpreter in the barrios. They promote voter registration drives and citizenship classes, but seldom promote English. A poorly informed voter is at the mercy of unscrupulous politicians.

The proposed "Official English" poses no threat. It is little more than a symbolic gesture to avoid possible problems similar to those brought on by separatists in French and English speaking Canada.

I love Spanish, my native language, and use it every chance I get. But most of us are here by choice. We know that this country offers more benefits than any other in the world. It is foolish to cheat ourselves when among its benefits are the freedom to maintain our language and heritage and the vast opportunity to learn to function profitably in a country we have chose to inhabit.