ABSTRACT
One of the arguments frequently made by those who support efforts to make English the official language of the United States is that bilingualism is often destablizing, that it can lead to civil strife, chaos, and national disunity. In the popular press and in literature distributed by organizations such as U.S. English, Canada is often portrayed as a country whose policy of official bilingualism has led to the separatist movement in Quebec in recent years, and that unless we in the United States declare English the official language, the unity of the United States and the welfare of its citizens will be adversely affected.
