To REALLY be American do your roots in the land have to go back to before 1865? (different, Spanish)

[sas318]

Originally Posted by Aredhel

Anyone who was either born here or who has sworn the oath of citizenship is a REAL American.

Even immigrants who still can't speak English or only watches TV and eats food from their home country? The only way they look American is their clothes or that they drive because they have to. They are living in their own world inside the USA.

[Hulsker 1856]

Originally Posted by sas318

Even immigrants who still can't speak English or only watches TV and eats food from their home country? The only way they look American is their clothes or that they drive because they have to. They are living in their own world inside the USA.

There is no 'American' look.

Yes, Puerto Ricans are Americans, even those that don't speak English (ie, the majority of Puerto Ricans).

Yes, the several thousand monolingual Navajo speakers are Americans.

Yes, the German immigrants in the 19th century - many of whom spoke only German and sent their children to German-language schools and read German-language newspapers published right here in the United States - were Americans.

You don't get to decide who and who is or is not American just because you don't like the language they speak or the food they eat.

[txfriend]

I would love to ask people with this mindset, what have YOU done for America that makes you think you are such a great American. Or are you riding the backs of your forefathers for legitimacy. Even our president who is known for maga would not qualify as a real American. His grandfather emigrated from Bavaria, Germany in 1885.

[Frihed89]

Originally Posted by Aredhel

Anyone who was either born here or who has sworn the oath of citizenship is a REAL American.

Any person, whose father or mother is a citizen of the US, is a Citizen of the US.

To wit, my grandson, born 4 months ago in the UK to an American father and a UK mother is now a US Citizen and has a US passport to prove it.

[loves2read]

Am I MORE American because my blood heritage on mother /father’ sides has been documented back to the early 1600s?

Eligible for DAR if I cared to join but not my thing
It’s nice to know but IMO doesn’t make me MORE American than say someone who enlisted in the military to EARN citizenship early and fought for America directly...

Or consider someone who is a pedophile—
Do I want that person to be an American—
It would be nice to strip citizenship and kick him out of the country
But that won’t happen...

[loves2read]

Originally Posted by Frihed89

Any person, whose father or mother is a citizen of the US, is a Citizen of the US.

To wit, my grandson, born 4 months ago in the UK to an American father and a UK mother is now a US Citizen and has a US passport to prove it.

But he can claim dual citizenship and get the stipen the UK pays for babies—

[Frihed89]

Originally Posted by loves2read

But he can claim dual citizenship and get the stipen the UK pays for babies—

Thanks. He automatically became a British citizen when he was born in London and his mother is a British citizen.

[Tritone]

Originally Posted by supfromthesite

The problem is America is a new world country.

So? Other people from new world countries identify with their country. One can say that they are from "Chile" or "Colombia" for example, and no one would ask "but where are you really from? Where's your family from?" All new world countries are "nations of immigrants", but they are allowed to identify with their respective countries.

For some reason people think the the United States is not a country that people can be from, even though it's an older nation than most. That's crazy to me.

[dizzybint]

Originally Posted by Tritone

So? Other people from new world countries identify with their country. One can say that they are from "Chile" or "Colombia" for example, and no one would ask "but where are you really from? Where's your family from?" All new world countries are "nations of immigrants", but they are allowed to identify with their respective countries.

For some reason people think the the United States is not a country that people can be from, even though it's an older nation than most. That's crazy to me.

Wouldnt dream of asking an American wheres your family from , it wouldnt even occur to me.. Isnt it actually Americans who go on more about their geneology and heritage or at least it looks like that on this forum.. they seem fascinated with their past...

[SunGrins]

Originally Posted by dizzybint

Wouldnt dream of asking an American wheres your family from , it wouldnt even occur to me.. Isnt it actually Americans who go on more about their geneology and heritage or at least it looks like that on this forum.. they seem fascinated with their past...

It is part of that "melting pot" idea of America -- 'E Pluribus Unum' in a way. But it is more rightly considered a gumbo of many different people and cultures mixed together. There is a lot of curiosity and some aspects that seem outside of someone's notion of what "normal" might be. We all live in some sort of bubble and just the mix of surnames will prompt some curiosity. In Scotland it might be different if everyone in a person's bubble seems to be from a common stock.