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They can vote and take drivers licenses? But then Asians do not enjoy the same benefit. My Thai wife did not enjoy such a benefit. She was forced to test in English. Why do we cater to a select few? Sounds like discrimination to me.
We really should cater to none. Either you can pass the test in the official language of our government or you can't.
Sounds like discrimination to me.
We don't cater to a select few.....the government is catering to millions - Spanish speaking illegal millions. As we read so many times on this very board Hispanics are the growing minority and they demand to be placated. It's immaterial to them that their numbers have been beefed up by illegal immigration.
It is ironic that they demand to be marginalized and to be segregated considering the immigrants that came before them did everything in their power to become Americans in every way.
It is ironic that they demand to be marginalized and to be segregated considering the immigrants that came before them did everything in their power to become Americans in every way.
That was back when becoming an American was looked at as a profoundly life-changing event; when people saw assimilation as a tough but worthwhile struggle; when immigrants wanted to become Americans, and when Americans insisted they try.
Today, we have no 'culture'....no one can define what, exactly, an American "is"..(or isn't)....we're not a particularly honorable country (even our President must go around apologizing for us), and we've lost much of the dignity, and most of the pride, we once had. We can't even define an 'immigrant' anymore...he may be legal..or he may not. Either one is 'cool' with us.
Little wonder, then, that immigrants feel no great need to assimilate. Assimilate to WHAT, exactly? And who SAYS they should..and why?
Some groups arrive here and seem to 'fit in' quite well..others not so well at all...but it's strictly a matter of culture, or personal preference, rather than any "push" from us....Why should foreigners, most of whom are members of old, 'proud' cultures, want to "become" Americans, when the Americans themselves can't even define the term? Why not just come for the freedom and the 'perks'? And if someone INSISTS you should be an 'American', then that's easy, too....just define 'American' as anything you WANT it to mean. There!...that'll get the local 'xenophobes' off your back !.....
They can vote and take drivers licenses? But then Asians do not enjoy the same benefit. My Thai wife did not enjoy such a benefit. She was forced to test in English. Why do we cater to a select few? Sounds like discrimination to me.
We really should cater to none. Either you can pass the test in the official language of our government or you can't.
Sounds like discrimination to me.
You betcha. This pisses me off no end, but my mother-in-law proudly displayed her "yo votar" sticker after voting while my father-in-law proudly displayed his "I voted" sticker. And I couldn't agree with you more, it is discrimination. What has always bothered me is in order to become naturalized you must show a proficiency in English. IF this is the case, then why are you allowed to vote in languages other than English?
All I know is growing up in America to me meant saying Merry Christmas without worrying about offending someone. In school we made Christmas decorations and we even had a Christmas tree. Halloween was celebrated in school, it was fun! We had a school carnival in the gym and a hay ride around the track. We looked forward to trick or treating and never had to worry about getting molested or poisened. Our parents never went with us because they weren't worried about our safety. We went to baseball games and as a 10 year old I was allowed to win a rifle in a raffle, and no one was shocked. We knew our neighbors, we showed all adults respect and it was shocking if there was a fight in the schoolyard. We were terrified of being called into the principals office and even more terrified of what dad would do to us when we got home. We had picnics during the 4th of July, going to the beach and building bonfires was normal and they were not crowded. If we didn't win games in sports, we didn't get a metal or a trophy. If we earned an A, we got an A and papers were corrected with red ink.
Everyone spoke English and for the first half of my life I probably never even heard an accent let alone another language. Lest you think I didn't get out much, by the time I was 17 my parents figured we had moved 32 times. This was my culture growing up. It is all but gone and replaced with nothing but Spanish in any McDonalds or Panda Express in the country. And I do think it is rude for them to speak Spanish in front of me while they are at work and I am a customer, but it happens more often than not.
So yeah, while what I consider my culture may not be your definition Macmeal, that doesn't mean I'm not allowed to miss the country I grew up in...and I never left.
It is ironic that they demand to be marginalized and to be segregated considering the immigrants that came before them did everything in their power to become Americans in every way.
That's very true, but what's really ironic is how much they complain and cry racism when they feel they ARE being marginalized and segregated in a way that doesn't suit them.
Some groups arrive here and seem to 'fit in' quite well..others not so well at all...but it's strictly a matter of culture, or personal preference, rather than any "push" from us....Why should foreigners, most of whom are members of old, 'proud' cultures, want to "become" Americans, when the Americans themselves can't even define the term? Why not just come for the freedom and the 'perks'? And if someone INSISTS you should be an 'American', then that's easy, too....just define 'American' as anything you WANT it to mean. There!...that'll get the local 'xenophobes' off your back !.....
And what is the French culture? The Spanish? The German?
Would these people be able to define their 'culture'?
The French drink wine.
The Spanish watch bull fights.
The Germans make good cars.
Are these defining a culture?
The American culture is being loyal to your country, learning its history, knowing that if a person works hard and smart they can enjoy some of the good things in life, celebrating our national holidays and understanding why we celebrate them, believing that our children can have better lives than their parents because they are not stuck in a caste system, ...well, I guess I could go on.
Our culture is the same now as it was 200 years ago or 100 years ago or 50 years ago.
Put an END to the issue by making American Standard English the OFFICIAL LANGUAGE of the United States.
If we make "spanish" an official language, number two or what ever, you will open up the flood gates for endless arguments to legitimize every other language spoken in the US.
Stupid.
Make English the language and have everyone learn how to read write and speak English.
All I know is growing up in America to me meant saying Merry Christmas without worrying about offending someone. In school we made Christmas decorations and we even had a Christmas tree. Halloween was celebrated in school, it was fun! We had a school carnival in the gym and a hay ride around the track. We looked forward to trick or treating and never had to worry about getting molested or poisened. Our parents never went with us because they weren't worried about our safety. We went to baseball games and as a 10 year old I was allowed to win a rifle in a raffle, and no one was shocked. We knew our neighbors, we showed all adults respect and it was shocking if there was a fight in the schoolyard. We were terrified of being called into the principals office and even more terrified of what dad would do to us when we got home. We had picnics during the 4th of July, going to the beach and building bonfires was normal and they were not crowded. If we didn't win games in sports, we didn't get a metal or a trophy. If we earned an A, we got an A and papers were corrected with red ink.
Everyone spoke English and for the first half of my life I probably never even heard an accent let alone another language. Lest you think I didn't get out much, by the time I was 17 my parents figured we had moved 32 times. This was my culture growing up. It is all but gone and replaced with nothing but Spanish in any McDonalds or Panda Express in the country. And I do think it is rude for them to speak Spanish in front of me while they are at work and I am a customer, but it happens more often than not.
So yeah, while what I consider my culture may not be your definition Macmeal, that doesn't mean I'm not allowed to miss the country I grew up in...and I never left.
That is my remembrance of the past also. Many Americans still carry it in their hearts even though some try to tell us we have no culture. We are supposedly multi-cultural with no unique identity anymore. This is what the far left PC idiots push and it has been fueled by too many non-assimilating immigrants both legal and illegal.
That is my remembrance of the past also. Many Americans still carry it in their hearts even though some try to tell us we have no culture. We are supposedly multi-cultural with no unique identity anymore. This is what the far left PC idiots push and it has been fueled by too many non-assimilating immigrants both legal and illegal.
And what SDBorn described was the kind of childhood that I wanted---------as an un hyphenated American.
Multiculturalism sucks: read that a bunch of 'foreigners' coming here and telling us Americans what we can do in our country. If their ancestral nations were so damn good----------they can return there.
And what SDBorn described was the kind of childhood that I wanted---------as an un hyphenated American.
Multiculturalism sucks: read that a bunch of 'foreigners' coming here and telling us Americans what we can do in our country. If their ancestral nations were so damn good----------they can return there.
Sorry if you aren't old enough to have experienced that childhood, Arizona Bear. It was so unbelievably different back then. There was such a sense of "home" and connection to one's community and country. Not so anymore.
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