It has taken at least four generations for the French Canadians around here to lose both their French and their French accent. Virtually all the Irish are long gone off to the cemetery, the Irish parish is closed and the Irish bars are gone. The Greek cafes and tavernas were gone by the time I was in college and the Sons of Italy is now a “bible believing” Baptist church. The synagogue closed years ago. The latest wave of immigrants, virtually all Africans of both Christian and Mohammedan persuasion, are already assimilating and they’ve only been here less than 20 years. In fact the Catholics and Orthodox among them have given a boost to our local parishes. The protestant ones have given new life to some of the protestant parishes. Truth be told, these immigrants are keeping my town from turning into one big loaf of agnostic/atheistic Wonder Bread! The people are nice, they work very hard, much harder as a group than the local examples of the shallow end of the Founders’ gene pool, they add a splash of color (in more ways than one) and their food is great!
Our American culture is seductive in a way no other is, even the Canadian and Australian ones. Anyone who has traveled around this world knows how dominant American culture is just about everywhere. When people come here nowadays, virtually all want to assimilate at least to some degree. If they don’t, their kids do and will.
It’s not the same in Europe. I could move to, say, Germany and become a citizen. But I’d never be a German. A German, or an Ethiopian or a Syrian or a Laotian can move here, become a citizen, and they are Americans.
I don’t see much hope for Europe frankly. They just aren’t culturally set up for immigration. We are.
Very interesting observations!
The reason anyone can be American is because it doesn’t mean anything other than having a piece of paper saying you are one.
I’m glad your experience is so positive; I see the impact in my area and I don’t think it is a good thing. Americans can’t many jobs because they can’t speak Spanish (to deal with the clientele), yet they are forced to fund the public schooling of the immigrants (whose parents often are either on the dole or working under the table).
Realistically we are not changing these people into “Americans”; just look at any fast food chain’s menu and how they have changed over the past couple of decades. They aren’t changing us, just replacing us. Without them, due to the low American birthrate, we’d have ghost towns all around the northeast.
I understand your point, but England has proven to be an assimilating force over the years. I believe most Jamaicans there have assimilated well and have good relations with the ethnic Brits, after perhaps a rough start. Indians as well. Brits just have a way of adopting the better parts of their old Empire and making them British in a way that America has as well. Probably not a coincidence either. Tea and curries there, pizza and tacos here. :) Christianity and a drive towards commerce and exchange.
But there is just something about Islam that cannot be breached. It has the Arab tribalist attitude woven thru it that will always be impassible. I’m hoping that their kids will like Americanism enough to break free but what do we offer today? Crap music, white guilt studies at school and nothing but sexual sin and murder on tv. Which, in essence, is the opposite of what this country is really about.