The Know Nothings was a nativist political party founded in
the 1840s with the sole purpose for existence being to
oppose Catholic Irish immigrants. When asked about their
activities, the party members were instructed to say "I
know nothing."
Let's call the English Only amendment what it actually is
— the Know Nothing amendment.
We are, in effect, witnessing the rebirth of the Know
Nothings in Nashville, circa 2009. Except now the target is
not Irish Catholics, but anyone who may not have a perfect
mastery of the English language and the taxpayers of
Davidson County who will be footing the half-million-dollar
tab for this unnecessary special election.
The Know Nothing amendment (cleverly and deceptively now
coined as English First by its supporters) would be a giant
step backward for a city that has been at the forefront of
national progress over the last two decades.
True to creed, the amendment's most ardent supporter,
Councilman Eric Crafton, asserted just last week that he
does not know what it would actually do. This most
comforting admission is accompanied by a taxpayer bill for
a special election and the erasure of Nashville from the
international map.
In stark contrast to what the supporters of the Know
Nothing amendment do not know, we who oppose this
ill-conceived amendment do know some things. We know that
its enactment would diminish the global perception of
Nashville, and Tennessee itself, as a place to do business.
A "yes" vote would rip that all-precious keystone from
beneath the Shining City on the Hill that Nashville works
daily to become.
We also know that Tennessee code already establishes
English as the official (but not the only) language of
Tennessee, to include all city and county governments.
At its very best, the Know Nothing amendment is redundant.
Other pushers of the Know Nothing amendment have freely
admitted that the purpose is largely "symbolic." If
symbolism is what they are after, let them pool their own
money and buy some ad space in this very paper.
Of other things we know — federal and constitutional
law would make the Know Nothing amendment impotent from the
start. It could not apply to education, public safety, or
the courts, which means that where money is actually spent
by Metro, the Know Nothing amendment would have no effect.
Non-English speaking immigrants needing building permits
already do not receive translation services. Nearly all
vital services must be provided in multiple languages per
federal law and the equal protection provision of the
federal and Tennessee constitutions.
Lest we forget, we are a nation of immigrants. The
perception that non-English immigrants do not want to learn
the language is a false one. No one travels thousands of
miles to a foreign land to not communicate.
Sadly, in 2009, what the Know Nothing amendment is set to
accomplish is not known by its supporters, but the
unfortunate consequences are all too clear to the rest of
us.
The only right vote on the Know Nothing amendment is a "no"
vote.
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Nathan Moore is a rare breed - a conservative thinker,
author and criminal defense attorney. He lives in
Nashville, Tennessee, and co-authors the political blog
MooreThoughts.com with his wife, and maintains his own
criminal defense blog, the Moore Law Blog.
To read more by Nathan Moore, visit
http://www.moorethoughts.com .
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