U.S. Official Language?

[Gina]

Originally Posted by Tink

If I went to an different country I would be expected to speak their language. When my grandparents came here they had to learn English. As the old saying goes "when in Rome do as the romans do".

I agree with Tink.. Everyone had to learn English years ago. Why should it be any different now.. Everyone should conform with the English language...

[Tink]

Ya know, I think learning the language of the country you're in is essential for several reasons... but first and foremost is personal safety. If you can't read road signs... can't tell a police officer what you need to say or can't tell a 911 dispatcher or ambulance attendant or ER nurse what your problem is, you or those in your care can die while you wait for an interpreter to arrive.

What a senseless loss that could be when it's perfectly preventable.
By forcing all those different EMS units to hire and keep interpreters on call you're going to just cost them all more money to operate that should be going into better care... not catering to the needs of a few who refuse to fit in. Small counties like mine where there are only 29,000 people in the entire county don't have money for extras... and we have got a large influx of immigrants in the past couple of years, so it is a potential problem for them as well as the county and municipalities involved.