The official language of the United States

I made a phone call the other day, and listened to the voice mail directions, like a typical, well-trained citizen of our electronically-controlled nation. After the first flurry of directions, I was greeted with the following: "Press 1 for English, Press 2 for Spanish..."

Can anyone tell me why - in the United States of America - we should have to press anything to continue in English? Don't misunderstand me - I realize that in our melting pot society, we need to be tolerant of and helpful to those who have not yet mastered English. However, having years of experience in the telephony industry, I happen to know that you can program an automated call handling system to offer those who don't speak English well an option to continue in another language, without making those who do speak English press buttons needlessly. This type of automated call handling setup is lazy, sloppy, and insulting to English-speaking Americans, as well as to those who come to our country and make the effort to learn our language.

If you agree, please don't press anything to continue. By all means, though, stay on the line, because your call is important to us. 

photo credit: keepingtime_ca via photopin cc