hypothesis:

as i'm going through one of my notebooks from this semester, pretending to study for a final exam:

People like to codify that which gives them power.

in context:
There are English-speakers who fear that Spanish-speakers will become the majority, and they want to make sure they will be able to maintain their power, even if they become the minority. [Therefore, they want to make English the official language of the U.S.]

but this could really apply to anything.
thoughts?