I’m very disappointed that President Donald Trump has now signed an executive order designating English as our country’s official language as was forecast in a recent Gazette article [“Trump to designate English as official U.S. language, Gazette, March 1].

We really don’t need a national language. America has become great because it has attracted people from many different cultures and speaking so many languages, all of whom have made significant contributions to our country. As a citizen, I feel very good about having people with so many ways of looking at the world living here.

Many Americans have a heritage from another country, as do I, being born from Romanian parents. Even though I have only basic knowledge of the language, I am proud that part of my life is Romanian. My Romanian heritage is a very important part of my identity and my sense of self, and I know that is the case for many immigrants and descendants of immigrants.

Our country needs to respect the diverse backgrounds of everyone who has moved here, as well as of the many Indigenous nations who have lived here before European settlement.

Our leaders should be supporting lifelong pride in our varied backgrounds instead of trying to create a homogeneous and monochrome nation that considers diversity a problem. That is not the America that the Statue of Liberty stands for and the America that I love.

Sidney Moss

Northampton