IMMIGRANTS, NOT  AMERICANS, MUST ADAPT. I am tired of this nation worrying
about whether  we are offending some individual or their culture. Since
the terrorist  attacks on Sept. 11, we have experienced a surge in
patriotism by the  majority of Americans. However, the dust from the
attacks had barely  settled when the "politically correct! " crowd began
complaining about the  possibility that our patriotism was offending
others.

I am not against  immigration, nor do I hold a grudge against anyone who
is seeking a better  life by coming to America. Our  population is almost
entirely made up of descendants of immigrants. However,  there are a few
things that those who have recently come to our country, and apparently
some born here, need to understand. This idea of America being  a
multicultural community has served only to dilute our sovereignty and  our
national identity. As Americans, we have our own culture, our own
society, our own language and our own lifestyle. This culture has been
developed over centuries of struggles, trials, and victories by millions
of  men and women who have sought freedom.


We  speak  ENGLISH, not Spanish,  Portuguese, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese,
Russian, or any other  language. Therefore, if you wish to become part of
our society, learn  the language!

"In God We Trust" is our national motto. This is not some  Christian,
right wing, political slogan.. We adopted this motto because  Christian
men and women, on Christian principles, founded this nation, and  this is
clearly documented. It is certainly appropriate to display it on  the
walls of our schools. If God offends you, then I suggest  you consider
another part of the world as your new home, because God is  part of our
culture.

If Stars and Stripes offend you, or you don't like Uncle Sam, then you
should seriously consider a move to  another part of this planet. We are
happy with our culture and have no  desire to change, and we really don't
care how you did things where you  came from. This is OUR COUNTRY, our
land, and our lifestyle. Our First  Amendment gives every citizen the
right to express his opinion and  we will allow you every opportunity to
do so. But once you are done  complaining, whining, and griping about our
flag, our pledge, our national  motto, or our way of life, I highly
encourage you take advantage of one  other great American freedom, THE
RIGHT TO LEAVE.

Quoted: PS - when you lift something from the Internet it's appropriate to use "quotes" otherwise it's called plagiarism. meaty.bravehost.com/extra_immigrants_adapt.html Immigrants, not Americans, Must Adapt Author Unknown I am tired of this nation worrying about whether we are offending some individual or their culture. Since the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, we have experienced a surge in patriotism by the majority of Americans. However, the dust from the attacks had barely settled when the "politically correct" crowd began complaining about the possibility that our patriotism was offending others. I am not against immigration, nor do I hold a grudge against anyone who is seeking a better life by coming to America. Our population is almost entirely made up of descendants of immigrants. However, there are a few things that those who have recently come to our country, and apparently some born here, need to understand. This idea of America being a multicultural community has served only to dilute our sovereignty and our national identity. As Americans, we have our own culture, our own society, our own language and our own lifestyle. This culture has been developed over centuries of struggles, trials, and victories by millions of men and women who have sought freedom. We speak ENGLISH, not Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, or any other language. Therefore, if you wish to become part of our society, learn the language! "In God We Trust" is our national motto. This is not some Christian, right wing, political slogan. We adopted this motto because Christian men and women, on Christian principles, founded this nation, and this is clearly documented. It is certainly appropriate to display it on the walls of our schools. If God offends you, then I suggest you consider another part of the world as your new home, because God is part of our culture. If Stars and Stripes offend you, or you don't like Uncle Sam, then you should seriously consider a move to another part of this planet. We are happy with our culture and have no desire to change, and we really don't care how you did things where you came from. This is OUR COUNTRY, our land, and our lifestyle. Our First Amendment gives every citizen the right to express his opinion and we will allow you every opportunity to do so. But once you are done complaining, whining, and griping about our flag, our pledge, our nat ional motto, or our way of life, I highly encourage you take advantage of one other great American freedom, THE RIGHT TO LEAVE.

Ah-oh

Not that I totally disagree, but.....

American culture is a blend of all of these cultures. For instance, take food. Most "American" food is derived from some other culture. Sure we have changed things a bit, but they still come from those cultures. Now does this cause an extremem problem? No, I don't think so. So I think everyone is more or less fine with that.

Holidays is another example mentioned. St. Patrick's Day to be more precise. this has been celebrated in America for at least a century. Probably more. So the question is; When does it become part of American heritage and not just Irish? Should the Irish stop celebrating it because they are now Americans? Heated debate on both sides I would imagine, but all in all, I don't thing most people have a problem with it.

My point is simply that American culture is not stagnant. It is still very much alive. Just like any other living culture it is going to change, grow, mutate if you prefer to use that term. Should we stop adding or celebrating everything that isn't 100% American? I don't know. It's what built this country in the first place. Seems kind of wrong to just put a stop on it now, IMHO.

Now, should the American language be changed to Spanish? French? German? or some other language? No! There at least has to be some common ground to bind the country together. We should at least be able to walk (or drive) anywhere within our own borders and expect to be able to communicate with fellow citizens. I don't understand why it's such a hard concept to grasp. When I go to Japan, I don't EXPECT them to speak English. It's nice that many do and helps me a great deal, but I don't expect them to. When I visit Mexico, do I drive down there and demand they speak English? No. I try to learn their language in order to communicate with them. At the very least enough to get what I need from them. These are just examples of visiting though and if the Mexican/Japanese/French whoever citizen are simply VISITING American, then I would understand that they don't know very much of our language. it's the ones who decide to immigrate that bother me. This means you have made a consious decision to LIVE here. Then you should have to courtesy and respect to learn the language. It's just that simple.

Look at it this way. 200 years ago when the German immigrants came across the Atlantic to settle here in the New Country did they try to change the national language to German? No.
Did French immigrants try to change the national language to French? No. Did African immigrants (and no I'm not talking about slaves) try to change it Swahili or whatever other African languages there were at the time? No. So why then are the Hispanics special in this regard? Why then are the Koreans special? The Phillipino's? The Chinese? (I mention those specifically because they are the ones I mostly see speaking their native tongue and not English. I'm sure there are others.) And why then do so many of these people get pissed when I don't understand what they are trying to tell me?

Immigrants are the ones who made a choice to come here. I didn't. I was born here. I choose to stay here. I learned the language of the country I intend to live in. Same as they did. The difference is, I did not immigrate to a new country.

Now for the disclaimer.
The above does not apply to everyone. I know several hispanic immigrants who recently immigrated here that do not speak the language. I accept that because they are trying to learn. In fact, I try to help them when I have time. I have no problem with people like this. So if you fit into one of those categories, I'm not talking about you. If you came here with no intention of learning the language then I am talking to you. If you came here expecting that the approx. 250 million Americans would change their language to that of your former country, then I'm talking to you.

I do not care if you celebrate holidays sacred to your former country, (St. Patrick's Day, Cinco de Mayo, or however you spell it, etc.) but you should celebrate AMERICAN holidays with the same passion. (Independance Day, Thanksgiving, etc.) These are sacred (and unique) to Americans of which you wish to be apart. I do not expect you to celebrate Religious holidays (Christmas, Easter, etc.) unless it is your faith, but this does not mean that the rest of us are going to STOP celebrating it simply because you don't. I don't demand the the Jewish people stop celebrating Honaka (sp?) or the Buddhists stop celebrating um...sorry don't know any Buddhist holidays, but the point is that they should respect Christians right to celebrate Christmas just the same.

This country was founded on tolerance and respect. It's people were united by one principle. Freedom. Freedom worked for so long because EVERYONE accepted your right to do as you wished so long as you did not impede another. This is where the country has gone wrong recently. We have lost that very basic principle.

Sorry, got a little long winded there.

Quoted: This is a editorial written by an American citizen, published in a Tampa Newspaper. Source: panheadsplace.bravepages.com/america.html

pwned.

PC gone too far!

Those personal computers are always doing crazy things !

Lighten up Paul, everybody here knows I'm not bright enough to come up with this by myself.

I made a mistake and did not cut and paste enough of the article to get the source in my post.

This was not a blatant attempt at stealing somebody else's work.