It is not true that we have only one life to live; if we can read, we can live as many more lives and as many kinds of lives as we wish.

The English Language Amendment says above all, 'Let's see to it that our children, our young people, learn English. Let us not deny them the opportunity to participate in American life, so that they can go as far as their dreams and talents can take them.

The United States, a land of immigrants from every corner of the world, has been strengthened and unified because its newcomers have historically chosen ultimately to forgo their native language for the English language. We have all benefited from the sharing of ideas, of cultures and beliefs, made possible by a common language. We have all enriched each other.

The language we share is at the core of our identity as citizens, and our ticket to full participation in American political life. We can speak any language we want at the dinner table, but English is the language of public discourse, or the marketplace and of the voting booth.

In a very real sense, people who have read good literature have lived more than people who cannot or will not read.

Language is a unifying instrument which binds people together. When people speak one language they become as one, they become a society.

The great thing about the United States is our ability to absorb foreign people and make them a part of us.