Should We Make Laws to Protect our Traditions?

[bondwooley]

This week, the town of Jackson, New York - pop. 1,718, located 2,500 miles from the Mexican border - jumped into the great debate on immigration when, in a panic, it passed a law making English the town's only permitted language.

Since no business has ever been done in Jackson in the past two centuries in any language other than English, the guy behind the law said that "it's just making it official that we're going to do what we've been doing for 190 years."

"It's not prejudicial or anything like that," he added.

So the question is, does tradition alone justify legislation to enforce it?

Seems like a slippery slope - one that America slides down all too often.

What's your opinion?

If you want to find the original poll, you can check it out here:

http://www.pledge-drive.com/lesterandcharliesurvey.html

[katandmoon]

1. WTF do they think they're fooling?

[bondwooley]

2. By the way, here's the link to the source article at NYTimes:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/13/nyregion/13towns.html?scp=1&sq=Jackson%20New%20York%20English&st=cse

[EFerrari]

3. That poll is HILARIOUS.

:hi:

[bondwooley]

5. Glad you got a kick out of it! nt

[LostInAnomie]

4. "Our town has always had white mayors. It's a tradition."

Same thinking.

[bondwooley]

7. EXACTLY the same reasoning! nt

[rustydog]

6. "It ain't not prejudice when we beat or hang nigras, we've always done that..

weall jus' wanna protect what weave allways been doin'.

that dont not make usall prejudiced ya know..."

Friggin' racist idiots every one.

[bondwooley]

8. I think your post shows how crazy it is to confuse tradition with "what's right"

Tradition is a powerful word - legitimately so. But saying that something is a tradition should not empower the practice.