Oklahoma Sovereignty, Why It Matters

In case you didn't know, the United States of America has never passed a constitutional amendment declaring an official language.

The State of Oklahoma made headlines recently re-asserting that they were taking legal action to maintain state sovereignty as defined in the 10th Amendment of the US Constitution. The state is trying to pass a resolution that will reinstate and reaffirm the powers of the state. By doing this, it is serving notice to the federal government that it has acted beyond its authority, and in such cases, these federal acts not be the law of the land in Oklahoma.

This action gives Oklahoma protection FROM the oppressive misuse of power by the federal government. The resolution says that the federal government has a limited purpose to which it is bound by the Constitution and does not have the right to march in and take over administration of the state's interest, such as forcing the state to become part of the North American Union or by forcing the citizens of the state into a national identification plan. This action does not mean that Oklahoma is succeeding from the United States. If all states did this, the federal government would still be there, but its authority would be limited as was intended by the founding fathers.

Unfortunately, what we have in America today is an administration that no longer believes in the "Living Constitution" or the principles on which this nation was built. In fact, the US Attorney General Eric Holder has written a letter to Oklahoma in which he asserts Oklahoma is in violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and is using it as justification to violate Oklahoma’s sovereignty.

What is it that the State of Oklahoma is doing that has riled Attorney General Holder? Oklahoma has proposed an amendment to the Oklahoma Constitution, which by the way requires voter approval, that would make English the official language of the state. AG Holder has threatened in his letter the possibility that the federal government will withhold federal funding if the resolution passes. He is clearly blackmailing the state. The citizens of Oklahoma have paid taxes to the federal government and are entitled to distribution of those tax dollars back to the state. You can read the letter yourself.

For what purpose do AG Holder and the Obama administration want the State of Oklahoma to drop this resolution? What do they fear with English being declared the official language of Oklahoma? To take it step further, why has every attempt to declare English as the official language of this country failed?