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Piecing together his rambling the past 4 years (damn, has it been that long?) I've interacted with him, our "identifying culture" consists of listening to baby boomer generation music, eating hotdogs, being a fan of football, watching American TV, speaking only English, and having an "American" first name. Yep, I've been reading his "thoughts" for way too long.
So, checking off that list, I don't listen to baby boomer music (in this sense, American produced music and the British Wave) with very few exceptions, I stopped eating hotdogs months ago, I hate football, I rarely watch American dramas or sitcoms, I speak English most of the time (but speak Spanish at work sometimes or on the phone with my family in public), but I do have an "American" first name. I guess I'm not fully assimilated since I don't like the same things Oldglory does
Piecing together his rambling the past 4 years (damn, has it been that long?) I've interacted with him, our "identifying culture" consists of listening to baby boomer generation music, eating hotdogs, being a fan of football, watching American TV, speaking only English, and having an "American" first name. Yep, I've been reading his "thoughts" for way too long.
So, checking off that list, I don't listen to baby boomer music (in this sense, American produced music and the British Wave) with very few exceptions, I stopped eating hotdogs months ago, I hate football, I rarely watch American dramas or sitcoms, I speak English most of the time (but speak Spanish at work sometimes or on the phone with my family in public), but I do have an "American" first name. I guess I'm not fully assimilated since I don't like the same things Oldglory does
You're not extinguished yet, they want you without your culture.
You're not fully accepted unless you loose your native culture & language
Piecing together his rambling the past 4 years (damn, has it been that long?) I've interacted with him, our "identifying culture" consists of listening to baby boomer generation music, eating hotdogs, being a fan of football, watching American TV, speaking only English, and having an "American" first name. Yep, I've been reading his "thoughts" for way too long.
So, checking off that list, I don't listen to baby boomer music (in this sense, American produced music and the British Wave) with very few exceptions, I stopped eating hotdogs months ago, I hate football, I rarely watch American dramas or sitcoms, I speak English most of the time (but speak Spanish at work sometimes or on the phone with my family in public), but I do have an "American" first name. I guess I'm not fully assimilated since I don't like the same things Oldglory does
You fools need to spend some time outside America if you really have this much trouble getting America's "identifying culture"...
For the idiots: Elements of America's identifying culture include belief in self reliance, self governance and strong opposition to the casual corruption that is accepted in many other cultures. Other elements are a spirit of entrepreneurship, respect for private property rights and rejection of the class and racial boundaries still found in Europe and Asia.
You could also add various social and religious elements that have traditionally supported the things I've mentioned above but sadly the libs have been hacking away at them over the past 50 years.
Really guys think about it... The fact that so many people seek to come to America to escape whatever place they come from and start new lives here makes it obvious that America is a unique place with a unique (and not indestructible) culture.
You're not extinguished yet, they want you without your culture.
You're not fully accepted unless you loose your native culture & language
Which is bull****, because I was born in Puerto Rico, USA. Us island boricuas have served, and many of us have died in WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Desert Storm, and the Global War on Terror aka Enduring Freedom. We're serving alongside "Real Americans", today, in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria. We were there when we went into Libya to oust Qaddafi. I have a still living proud Korean War veteran in my family, and he was on the front lines in Busan with the US Army 65th Infantry, trying to fight off the North Koreans and their Chinese allies with an M1 Garand. So, Oldglory can shove "Americans only speak English" BS up where the sun don't shine, cause this patriotic American ain't having none of it
You fools need to spend some time outside America if you really have this much trouble getting America's "identifying culture"...
For the idiots: Elements of America's identifying culture include belief in self reliance, self governance and strong opposition to the casual corruption that is accepted in many other cultures. Other elements are a spirit of entrepreneurship, respect for private property rights and rejection of the class and racial boundaries still found in Europe and Asia.
You could also add various social and religious elements that have traditionally supported the things I've mentioned above but sadly the libs have been hacking away at them over the past 50 years.
Really guys think about it... The fact that so many people seek to come to America to escape whatever place they come from and start new lives here makes it obvious that America is a unique place with a unique (and not indestructible) culture.
I'm going to comment on the bolded in order.
1. Right-wing talking point
2. Right-wing talking point
3. Not uniquely American. Most countries have a spirit of entrepreneurship
4. Not uniquely American
5. After the Civil Rights Act this became true, not before.
6. General right-wing rambling
If 1, 2, and 6 are part of our identifying culture, then so is organized labor and the social safety net. Labor unions and welfare have the Made in USA stamp on them. We did not import them, we exported them. Organized labor and the social safety net are as American as your claims to 1, 2, and 6. Yes, feel free to thank your (great)grandparents anytime
I appreciate the advice and in California it would be an asset to speak Spanish rather than French and Swedish. But I am going to a state where sanity still reigns and speaking Spanish rather than English is not seen as an asset.
Those who worked on the assembly lines in Detroit and in the steel mills of Pittsburgh thought as you did.
That's what makes this argument so fascinating: your attitude here is straight out of the mainstream liberal playbook despite the fact you're arguing a mainstream conservative POV.
This is what happens when you buy into this game of D vs R and government as a legit entity in general.
Here's a secret for you: I have no doubt you and/or people like yourself came to California and played by the rules. You did nothing "wrong". All you've ever done was contribute to society, pay taxes, stay relatively clear of the law, and tried not to burden others.
Then over the years a situation developed (cheap labor needs) where illegal and legal immigrants alike flocked to the state. The rules were altered mid-game on you...or towards the end depending on your age.
I'm vindicating you here in this dynamic.
But here's the kicker...are you really this gullible? I mean...did you think the government was not going to exploit you because you paid your extortion (taxes) money for years?
As a mainstream conservative I'm sure you'd blame the unions and the Dems for the plight of Rust Belt. I grew up there and can tell you without a doubt that angle has much merit. But again, not everyone was a lazy feeder off union protection. When in it went bad it went bad for everyone.
It's this whole pitting of one side against the other that must stop. You got screwed. I know it. But it was the government that did it...not the "other side" (insert D or R in various situations in our history).
You played by the rules. But they were the rules of a criminal, immoral gang known as the government.
The problem isn't this fake paradigm of competing ideologies. It's the fact that people, for whatever reason, believe that paying extortion money to a gang gives them infinite immunity to the whims of said gang.
It's like a little kid paying a bully each day at school so he won't get beat up. Then one day the bully raises the fee a dollar. As the bullied kid our collective reaction is "Hey, that's not fair! You don't have the right to raise the amount of money you're extorting from me!"
See how much sense that makes? Nobody has the right to extort you in the first place!!!
That's my take in a nutshell. Improve your life. Keep your nose clean. Avoid interaction with the government as much as possible (nobody drives thru gangland on purpose and that is the EXACT equivalent). Don't blame others who seemingly benefit from whatever shift in policy the head gangsters decide to implement. Blame the actual gangsters.
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