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But, again, you're not defining what you mean by our "culture". Our culture is a culture of immigrants. It's always adapted to the newcomers and xenophobes have always resisted. Tale as old as time.
We have no official language other than some predominant language used on forms.
You seem to have to problem with our adoption of German, Irish, Polish, etc cultural traditions, so it's hard not to think this is based on race.
You perhaps have a very isolated rural view of American culture (even if that's not where you live) but cities have always been a melting pot of cultures feeding off one another.
We're now even a global culture so many have much more in common with people around the world than int their own town, based on interests, sports, etc.
Do you not want us to use hot sauce or watch soccer? I just don't get what this culture is defined as for you.
What a load of drivel.
Our culture has adopted some practices from immigrants, but the root and core of our culture is our deep love of personal liberty as enshrined in our Constitution and our (mostly) free market system. Take that away and you don't have American culture in any real sense.
The Constitution is written in English, as are our laws. That pretty much makes English our official language, even if there has been no vote on congress on that specific question.
European cultural traditions have been easy to assimilate here. They are Western and very much parallel to our own basic ideas. The customs and traditions of other countries generally are NOT. Further, many of the people that come here from those cultures have no intention of assimilating. None. Has nothing to do with race. It's a different way of thinking.
The desire to preserve our basic ideas, values and traditions doesn't make everyone a 'xenophobe' or any other kind of 'phobe'. Nor does it mean that people racist. That's a ridiculous and illogical assertion.
Our culture has adopted some practices from immigrants, but the root and core of our culture is our deep love of personal liberty as enshrined in our Constitution and our (mostly) free market system. Take that away and you don't have American culture in any real sense.
Of course, and we're notably entrepreneurial in a way other countries aren't. So what does that have to do with people drawn to watch soccer or practice Taiwanese traditions of eat hot sauce? That's a political philosophy. People can manifest those values in all sorts of different cultures.
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The Constitution is written in English, as are our laws. That pretty much makes English our official language, even if there has been no vote on congress on that specific question.
Funny you speak in one paragraph about our deep culture of personal liberty, and then hound people in the next for not abiding by group think.
Personal liberty means people can speak whatever language they want and I pray you big government lovers don't take that away.
I find a lot of people who cry freedom the loudest really mean it in the most narrow of senses: white, male, straight, Christian in name if not practice, exurban / rural in cultural norms.
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European cultural traditions have been easy to assimilate here. They are Western and very much parallel to our own basic ideas. The customs and traditions of other countries generally are NOT. Further, many of the people that come here from those cultures have no intention of assimilating. None. Has nothing to do with race. It's a different way of thinking.
The desire to preserve our basic ideas, values and traditions doesn't make everyone a 'xenophobe' or any other kind of 'phobe'. Nor does it mean that people racist. That's a ridiculous and illogical assertion.
There's freedom loving cultures all over the world. I've lived with people from all different backgrounds my whole life and none struck me as more or less freedom loving. In fact, many immigrants are very passionate about freedom.
But what you want is a European-centric culture with all others as outsiders. You're walking a thin line here.
I ignore them and let make a fool out of themselves. If they hurt anyone, then punish them severely. I don't pay the far right much mind, I notice the scum under my shoes more than them.
the root and core of our culture is our deep love of personal liberty as enshrined in our Constitution and our (mostly) free market system. Take that away and you don't have American culture in any real sense.
Considering that even outside of western Europe, most of the former colonies of the world were exposed to, ruled under western european principles, the number of countries that were is rather limited. As a result, the concepts enshrined in the Constitution are pretty much universal in the world's constitutional democracies.
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Further, many of the people that come here from those cultures have no intention of assimilating. None. Has nothing to do with race. It's a different way of thinking.
That argument has been made since the early 19th century yet with each generation of immigrants by the second and certainly third generation, American "culture" assimilated by osmosis. (It is funny that no one seems to mention two immigrant groups that have refused to assimilate for generations, the Amish and Ultra-Orthodox Jews).
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The desire to preserve our basic ideas, values and traditions doesn't make everyone a 'xenophobe'
That would be true if the arguments were actually factual, unfortunately they rarely are.
Funny you speak in one paragraph about our deep culture of personal liberty, and then hound people in the next for not abiding by group think.
LOL! So you think that agreement amongst Americans that English is our official language because it's the language our Constitution is written in, our laws are written in and our national debate is spoken in is mere "group think"? That's hilarious! If everyone in the country agreed with everything you said, all of your personal opinions, would that be mere "group think" to you? I'm guessing not...
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Originally Posted by Bluefly
Personal liberty means people can speak whatever language they want and I pray you big government lovers don't take that away.
Of course it does! It also means being responsible enough to speak the dominant language. And I'm not asking for more government (nice try)... I'm asking for common courtesy.
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Originally Posted by Bluefly
I find a lot of people who cry freedom the loudest really mean it in the most narrow of senses: white, male, straight, Christian in name if not practice, exurban / rural in cultural norms.
Stereotype much?
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Originally Posted by Bluefly
But what you want is a European-centric culture with all others as outsiders. You're walking a thin line here.
LOL! Wow... you are slow. No... I want freedom loving people to come here and, better, create freedom in their own homeland. But I also want them to assimilate rather than Balkanize our country and our culture. That's a perfectly reasonable expectation.
LOL! So you think that agreement amongst Americans that English is our official language because it's the language our Constitution is written in, our laws are written in and our national debate is spoken in is mere "group think"? That's hilarious! If everyone in the country agreed with everything you said, all of your personal opinions, would that be mere "group think" to you? I'm guessing not...
Of course it does! It also means being responsible enough to speak the dominant language. And I'm not asking for more government (nice try)... I'm asking for common courtesy.
Stereotype much?
LOL! Wow... you are slow. No... I want freedom loving people to come here and, better, create freedom in their own homeland. But I also want them to assimilate rather than Balkanize our country and our culture. That's a perfectly reasonable expectation.
In summary of your "thoughts": "You have personal liberty to behave only like I do! Don't you be watching no soccer or eating those tacos, now hear?"
Look, our country has always been about absorbing elements of immigrant cultures and evolving our culture. That's just who we are and it's not changing no matter how much some folks want everyone to be like them.
No one here denies our core political tenants, but "culture" is very different, and if you want to force newcomers to speak a language, that's going to require lots more government.
It's worth pointing out that I am not American, and that most nations that aren't the US like the ones in Europe and Asia don't care as much for multiculture to begin with.
Multiculturalism is one of the vestiges of the Cold War. America wanted to prove to its non-white allies that it wasn't a racist so it opened up its borders and also pressured European countries (notably West Germany) to open up its borders to immigration. This was done to counter propaganda from the Soviet Union that capitalism was a racist ideology and that the US (and the West) was a racist imperialist country.
LOL! So you think that agreement amongst Americans that English is our official language because it's the language our Constitution is written in, our laws are written in and our national debate is spoken in is mere "group think"? That's hilarious! If everyone in the country agreed with everything you said, all of your personal opinions, would that be mere "group think" to you? I'm guessing not...
Of course it does! It also means being responsible enough to speak the dominant language. And I'm not asking for more government (nice try)... I'm asking for common courtesy.
Stereotype much?
LOL! Wow... you are slow. No... I want freedom loving people to come here and, better, create freedom in their own homeland. But I also want them to assimilate rather than Balkanize our country and our culture. That's a perfectly reasonable expectation.
Is the Netherlands and Switzerland "balkanized"? Both have multiple official languages. In Switzerland they have French, German, and Italian. In the Netherlands they have Dutch, English, Papiamento (a sort of Antillean Creole), and Frisian. Dutch and English are taught kingdomwide while ABC/BES islands students also learn Papiamento and West Frisian students also learn Frisian. So for instance, someone in Aruba can speak Dutch, English, and Papiamento.
Multiculturalism is one of the vestiges of the Cold War.
Multi-culturalism is a vestige of the very first city-state that ever arose out of human history. Virtually every nation on the planet is based upon some degree of multi-culturalism.
Germans were always Germans, they were at one time Celts, Balts, and Slavs.
Modern day Switzerland has four separate language groups the German: die Schweizer, French: les Suisses, Italian: gli Svizzeri, and the Romansh: ils Svizzers).
Beligum comprise two distinct ethnic identities the Walloons and the Flemish and Germans.
You see white people and think that they are all culturally the same! Hell even Japan and China are comprised of different ethnic groups of one sort or another. One has to wonder if folks ever even walked past a world history class.
Such BS. Whoever occupies and CAN DEFEND land, owns and rules it.
For western Europe, that will be muslims in a generation.
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