An exchange of ideas

Email I received

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.

My response That's hogwash.  Everyone's individual preferences have caused us to be divided?  The only part of government that should have any part in your life, is the part that the government was set out to accomplish.  The government is not here to tell people how to live their lives.  We are here to live our lives.  Forcing any immigrant to live like the people in this country have lived before is against our constitution.  The more immigrants that come to our country, the more people there will be to defend our rights, from many a different persuasion.  Diversity will help the brainstorming process, and give us many a vault of creativity to draw upon.    His response However, I will argue.  I am tired of walking into hospitals, for instance, and seeing every imaginable language translated.  Or paying interpretors to help people who are freely in the country.  You want to become American, speak American (English).  Don't make my government have to take extra measures to accomodate you, with ONE exception.  We could provide classes in English. But, that's the only thing we should do. My response: I have heard your argument so many times in the past, not just from you.  But this is the land of the free.  Even immigrants deserve to be free.  Why should they have to do something they don't care about doing?  If life gets too hard for them, they will find out how to learn our language...or maybe they will start teaching us theirs...either way, it is a road to understanding.  I thought America was about thinking differently from all nations in history.  Most of the people that immigrateto our country are outcasts in their own country because they didn't want to conform to the forced religious and political practices in their country.  Again, didn't we build this country on freeing yourself from coerced religious beliefs?  Didn't we build this country to allow the people to control the government?  I welcome anybody who is attempting to excersize their human rights of freedom.