Asa Hutchinson Quotes
I believe it is our values and our ideals that ultimately bind us together as a nation. But it is the English language which serves as the means by which we can communicate these values to those around us. Our common language, English, is that which unites us.
Hutchinson, Asa. "Remarks on the English Language Empowerment Act." Congressional Record, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1 Aug. 1996.
This mode of national definition is characteristic of many nations of Europe as well.
His belief is that the vast majority of Americans have a set of values in common including tolerance of alternative religions. In this sense, he considers the common values as an American Religion.
At the time, there was very little national news in most newspapers and almost none about local areas and peoples other than the newspaper’s town. With the exception of New York and a few other cities, there was no news on the radio and TV had not yet been deployed. Most of the nation was very insular. It would not be until the Eisenhower administration that the national highway system was built. Most American spent their entire lives within 90 miles of their home and knew little about anywhere else other than NY, Chicago, Hollywood, Washington, and San Francisco.
He was speaking metaphorically here. Literally dreaming in English is not his requirement. What is required is an outlook, perception, value system, and national identity that is American. Lack of English language proficiency makes that much harder to achieve.
William Asa Hutchinson II (/ˈeɪsə/, AY-sə) is an American politician serving as the 46th and current Governor of Arkansas since 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he previously was the U.S. Attorney for the Fort Smith-based Western District of Arkansas (1982–1985), U.S. Representative for Arkansas's 3rd congressional district (1997–2001), Administrator of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (2001–2003) and the first Undersecretary for Border and Transportation Security at the United States Department of Homeland Security (2003–2005).
