Posted on 04/15/2005 2:01:54 PM PDT by CHARLITE
Assimilation, once the goal of every American immigrant, need not be a thing of the past. Our national motto, E Pluribus Unum (From Many, One), was the brainchild of John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin in 1776 to complement the unity of colonies into a nation, later the United States of America. E Pluribus Unum still appears on every US coin. Once upon a time, the national motto was also appropriate for America’s immigration policy. We even referred to America as the ‘Great Melting Pot.’ From many immigrants, came many American citizens. That was then, this in now.
Not too many years ago came the idea that diversity and ethnicity should be reveled. Black Americans, the descendants of the only involuntary American immigrants, indeed slaves, had a rather arduous history of assimilation. It took almost 350 years, inclusive of a civil war, a national civil rights movement, a Civil Rights Act, a Voting Rights Act, a war on poverty (the Great Society), and finally, a national introspective that this country’s only involuntary immigrants were here to stay and should be finally granted assimilation. It took almost 200 years to finally admit outright “that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
But when the already assimilated were finally ready to reach out to the segregated in the interest of unity, black separatism raised and waved a fist rather than grab an outstretched white hand, and the black-power movement was born. Instead of celebrating unity, black Americans chose to commemorate diversity and ethnicity. They now possessed power in the way of votes and they chose to display their disdain for America’s ninth inning attempt to ameliorate all the anguish and discrimination of the past. Unity was snubbed in the interest to separatism. Americans hell, they were African Americans!
While African Americans were finally and justly succeeding in their longing for social integration, another group of immigrants, this time from the same continent, began their invasion of our porous southern border en masse. The Statue of Liberty displays America’s promise…”Give us your poor, your tired, your huddled masses longing to be free.” Yet, one wonders the true reason of the Latinos’ motivation to immigrate. Could it be a longing to be free? A new and better life in a new land? Or perhaps to support families back home in their homeland? Today, the most accepted estimate of Mexican undocumented workers (PC term for illegal aliens) is between 18 and 20 million. And the illegal alien population in America is growing by almost a half-million annually. One must question the motivation of so many illegals from another land. Certainly, most have no intention of establishing citizenship in the United States. But, somebody has to do the unwanted jobs! But, at what price?
Illegal immigration is costing the United States a bundle. Patrolling the border is expensive, but not as expensive as some of the other associated costs such as: welfare, healthcare, education, and incarceration. It is estimated that the underground illegal alien labor force is costing IRS about 300 billion dollars annually.
But there are other prices to pay for the luxury of living in a country rich with diversity. To be different makes one wander into different paths and, unfortunately, away from unity. African Americans have their Black History ‘MONTH’ to celebrate African American achievements and contributions to our national sovereignty. Ask any African American student about Rosa Parks, Malcolm X, or Martin Luther King, then ask about Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, or any of the founding fathers. Hispanic children are too busy learning the language and how to read to grasp and learn about the greatness of America’s heritage. Compared to 32 industrial nations the United States ranks 14th in science, 15th in reading, and 19th in math. How can that be you ask….could it possibly be that our rich diversity has something to do with it? Why is it that the average 17-year-old African American or Hispanic male student is reading on the level of a 13- year-old white male student?
America is a nation of opportunity. We are not the Diversity States of America…..we are the United States of America. We must again live by our national motto, E Pluribus Unum. It is time to divest ourselves of diversity. We must unite our people as Americans, not African Americans, nor Hispanic Americans, but Americans. It is time to thwart the invasion of illegals and it is time to legitimize the undocumented workers or send them back from whence they came.
E Pluribus Unum
Comments: rlanzotti@mindspring.com
BTTT
If we could get rid of Liberal-Americans the other hyphenated Americans would blend in easily.
So9
What melting pot? We no longer melt. It's more like everybody's got their own pot these days.
We are not a melting pot anymore. More like a stewing pot. Chunks of this and that refusing to assimilate.
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