Posted on 01/19/2012 5:04:51 AM PST by IbJensen
There is no room in this country for hyphenated Americanism. When I refer to hyphenated Americans, I do not refer to naturalized Americans. Some of the very best Americans I have ever known were naturalized Americans, Americans born abroad. But a hyphenated American is not an American at all.
The one absolutely certain way of bringing this nation to ruin, of preventing all possibility of its continuing to be a nation at all, would be to permit it to become a tangle of squabbling nationalities, an intricate knot of German-Americans, Irish-Americans, English-Americans, French-Americans, Scandinavian-Americans or Italian-Americans, each preserving its separate nationality, each at heart feeling more sympathy with Europeans of that nationality, than with the other citizens of the American Republic.
There is no such thing as a hyphenated American who is a good American. The only man who is a good American is the man who is an American and nothing else.
For an American citizen to vote as a German-American, an Irish-American, or an English-American is to be a traitor to American Institutions; and those hyphenated Americans who terrorize American politicians by threats of foreign votes are engaged with treason to the American Republic.” … (Theodore Roosevelt, President of the United States, in a speech before the Knight’s of Columbus, October 12th, 1915.) (SOURCE)
As we see today, Teddy was absolutely right. We have become the very thing he warned we would becomeif we did not drop the hyphen – both mentally and physically. Indeed, we have “become a tangle of squabbling nationalities.”
Even President Woodrow Wilson regarded "hyphenated Americans" with suspicion, saying, "Any man who carries a hyphen about with him carries a dagger that he is ready to plunge into the vitals of this Republic whenever he gets ready.” (SOURCE)
At no time is it more obvious than during an election cycle when the politicians begin their pathetic pandering to every hyphenated group of so-called Americans in the country… both legal and illegal.
Since Teddy made his remarks we have embraced the hyphen ad infinitum. Now we have: African American, Arab American, Asian American, European American, Latino American, Native American, Chinese American, English American, Filipino American, Greek American, German American, Irish American, Indian American, Italian American, Japanese American, Jewish American, Korean American, Mexican American, Norwegian American, Azerbaijani American, Polish American, Russian American, Spanish American, Swedish American, Ukrainian American, Vietnamese American, and the list just continues to grow.
America is more divided today that she was during The War Between the States. We each seem to have our own little tribe to which we belong. The once famed “American culture” no longer exists. We have submerged it in a sea of multiculturalism and it has become the victim of something called “diversity.” Both Multiculturalism and Diversity were begat by Political Correctness, which has its roots in Marxism. Yes, I am saying America is becoming a Marxist country. The evidence is overwhelming. For exhibit number one, look no farther than the current occupant of the Oval Office of the President of the United States.
We are drowning in a sea of hyphens!
Whatever happened to plain ole Americans? Only a cursory investigation will reveal that they have been relegated to the dusty corners of our society where they can speak of such things as loyalty to one’s nation, honor, patriotism, and worse, GOD! … and not offend the purveyors of political correctness -- the practitioners of Marxism.
The past few generations of Americans have been indoctrinated in our government schools so that they believe that multiculturalism and diversity are GOOD. These are the same government schools that replaced prayer with policeman, psychologists, chain link fences, and metal detectors.
What did we expect?
America is in such hopeless shape that we cannot manage to convince anyone capable of leadership to even stand for election. Instead, we republicans have this gaggle of second and third stringers who have done nothing but embarrass half of the GOP while the other half is praying to God that he provide a miracle and produce a leader (quickly) we can have, at least, SOME confidence in.
America has lost its identity. We no longer know who we are. This is the result of hyphens, multiculturalism, and diversity. Until we can reclaim our real identify -- and coalesce around that identity as one people -- we cannot hope to heal our nation.
An American is an American , no other nation is at par with its values and generosity.
The same can be said of hyphenated wives.
I have said for most of my life that a Hyphenated-American is by definition a RACIST in it’s Purest form.
Such salacious talk eh!
I forgot if Washerwoman Schultz hypenates her name.
Yes, and that hyphenation is much more common today than when you and I grew up. There is another aspect of this discussion of division. That aspect of the social engineering that adds to the division of marriages. Yes, freedom to make your own choices is one thing and it should be that way. But there are huge numbers of marriages that are divided on paper only to receive "benefits". That costs far more than the tax dollars spent. Sad statement of where we are.
It seems that people retaining/using the hyphenated identity want to convey that they are in some way distinct from garden variety, conventional ‘American’.
There are tremendous incentives for them to do this.
A hyphenated identity presumes/gets special consideration in our system, material and otherwise.
Also, hyphenated names convey a minority status, which is pure gold in our “victimhood”/”gimme stuff free” American society!!! (It is instantly and demonstrably effective with ill-educated and otherwise Anti-American types)
My grandparents came here in the early ‘20’s and couldn’t become or think of themselves as ‘American’ soon enough. It seems that some of these families competed with each other in how quickly they could assimilate and become ‘like the Americans’. My grandmother told me, and she MEANT IT, that the first thing she did when she arrived was, to kiss the ground she stood on. Her statement is NOT unique with the old timers I know.
It was first on the list - take another peek ;)
American first...european background second no hyphen needed.
I thought this article was going to be about Miami-Dade County, the ONLY county in the country with a hyphen. BTW, people who live here ALWAYS call is Dade County.
Agreed - good analysis.
There is however, a distinction. By nationality, loyalty, and upbringing, I am, and always will be, 100% AMERICAN.
That doesn’t mean I can’t acknowledge my Italian, German, and Irish heritage. However, I don’t refer to myself as an “Italian-American” or any of the others in a normal context.
Me too. I love discussing my ethnic (various European) background, and all that, and genealogy fascinates me.
However, that is seperate from my identity as an American loyal to the only nation I have ever known, and that is the USA.
As an Appalachian-American I resent this article.
Anyone who uses a hyphen to describe their nationality or name uses the primary part as the qualifier and is not committed to the later part.
“The author omits the main hyphenated group that still carries a chip on their shoulder and ensconced themselves mainly in the Democrat Party: The African-Americans!”
The author doesn’t want that sorry bastard Jesse Jack(off)son paying him a visit for some sort of shakedown...
Or any of lowlife Holder’s thugs.
While diversity is nice, the mindset that diversity is the underlying principle that must be celebrated above all else is destroying what makes us the United States of America. Thirteen generations of my ancestors were proud to call themselves American. I bristle at the platitude that “we are a nation of immigrants”. Hyphenating simply keeps us the “Divided States of America”.
Never hire a babe with a hyphenated last name.
Never interview a guy with a hyphenated last name.
As a Redneck-American I resent it. I also resent it as a Po’White-American. What’s a Po’White-American? Same as a White Trash-American but with better manners.
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