Quote:
Originally posted by Dottore
Albert Schweitzer once remarked: "nationalism is an infantile disorder: the measels of mankind".
It is ridiculous to suggest that a recent immigrant from wherever should become "in every facet an American and nothing but an American". As anyone who is or knows immigrants will tell you, their loyalties will be divided for life.
It is interesting to contrast the Canadian approach to this with the American. Canadian immigration policy has always been at pains to recognize, accomodate and celebrate the rich ethnic mix of our immigrants. The notion that "any man who says he is an American but something else also, isn't an American at all" is totally absurd in a Canadian context - as of course it is "de facto" in an American context.
Immigrants will always have divided loyalties - and that is as it should be. By choosing to live in America, an immigrant is already making a more considered statement about his loyalties that someone born in America fortuitously - and that choice alone is worthy of respect.
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Hi - I've read lots of books in my life, written by immigrants. In all of them, they came here, and whether they liked what they found or not, they set themselves to be American's. They took on the American flag as a flag to be proud of, rather then to be set under their old one. They did their best to learn the English language, and they put their loyalty into the new country.
This does not mean, that their customs, etc, instantly changed, or that it was demanded. They still retained the strong characteristics of where they where from. If you notice, there are three points in that speech. Flag(Image), Loyalty, and learning the country's universal language.
Every American, including the "indians", ancestor's immigrated here. In my case, I keep my family background in mind, but do not consider myself to be "German", but rather, "American".