Posted on 10/16/2005 5:06:49 PM PDT by Wrangler22
In recent months we have been hearing much about illegal aliens and Mexican-Americans with regards to the border issue. In the wake of Katrina we heard the ridiculous and unsubstantiated claims that African-Americans were the target of some “white” conspiracy led by the Bush administration. Regularly we are asked to be politically correct with regards to each ethnic group, be it Irish-American, Polish-American, Japanese-American etc. Increasingly we must even be particularly sensitive to those who are even partially descended from any group, if they have even one drop of blood from a particular group you best be cautious.
Teddy Roosevelt once used the term Hyphenated American. This is a term which is widely applicable in the United States today. Whether you consider yourself to be Cuban-American, Mexican-American, Italian-American, African-American etc, the use of hyphenated American terms to refer to ones ethnic background is very common.
I myself am the son of a Cuban immigrant mother and an American father of German decent. My wife is a mixture of German, English, Dutch, and Irish decent. My children asked me the other day, Dad, what are we? I pondered this question for a few minutes as I searched for the right answer. I have honestly only ever thought of myself as American, not Cuban-American so this was quite puzzling for me.
At first I began to break down their heritage. ½ German, ¼ Cuban, 1/16 English, 1/32 Irish, and 1/32 Dutch. I’m not even sure if that adds up and I was sure that my 7yr old and 9yr old would be very confused by it. I then gave them a simple answer, you are Americans.
Now, I don’t want to minimize the wonderful impact the influx of other cultures has had on the development of this country. We are truly a melting pot of cultures from around the world, and I encourage people to celebrate their cultural traditions. As we marry and have children, the definition of cultural lineage can become blurred and, in the end, we are all Americans.
It is for this reason that we as a country must preserve our culture as Americans as well as the cultural traditions we have brought from other countries to this great land. We should encourage the people who come to the United States to learn the language and our history, while respecting their right to celebrate their customs and their cultural history.
As the African- American” community descends on Washington yet again, they don’t realize that they are doing more to divide than unite. When we stand and look at other minorities and how they fare in this great country, we do not see them loudly protesting their lot in life or blaming the current generation for crimes over 100 years old. The only exception to this would be the refusal of immigrants to assimilate and learn the language but even then, we cater to the Hispanic-Americans and ignore the rights of the Indian(from India)—Americans, Chinese-Americans, and Korean-Americans. When we go to the store, use an ATM, or call a company for customer service, we are given the choice of either English or Spanish. What about the Polish, German, Indian, and Japanese immigrants? How about the Koreans, Chinese, Ukrainians, and Greeks? We could go on and on about those from other parts of the world. What is the answer, do we now offer every service in every language spoken in the world? No, we speak English. We should unite as one country and one people. It is time to stop dividing this nation along ethnic lines. It is not too much to ask people who come here to live to learn our language. We are Americans, not Hyphenated Americans, lets start acting like it.
As a Polish-American, I insist I receive reparations for decades of bad joke abuse.
But really, it's a good article, and just plain common sense for most people.
Good article...
It is apparent that more and more people are getting sick of the old socialist ploy of political correctness.
You would be worth as much as Gates if you ever received your due. LOL
Heard the one about the Polish bank robber?
Tied up the vault and blue (sic) the guard.
Myself, I am proud of my German heritage, but like my father who went to war with his first cousins in WWII, I am an America first. I resent people who come here and want America to change to accommodate them.
Ditto
I bought something the other day that had instructions written in English only. Woohoo!
No Way!? Awesome!
I have already geard from an offended African-Anerican on this subject and responded as follows:
You responded predictably. The point is that it is time for us ALL to be just Americans, with no qualifiers. This is a concept which escapes the majority of Hyphenated Americans. Responses like yours show why this will never change. Please keep it coming; you are the perfect example of why I wrote this piece.
He just doesn't get the point of the piece.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.