OPINION:
My mother always hated it when I would ask, “What the heck have the Irish ever done?” Her retort would always be that “without the Irish, you wouldn’t be here.” Though there are other lines of ancestry in my blood, the biggest vein goes back to Ireland. But, I never really cared. I did not have any pride in being Irish, nor did I ever feel any loyalty to Ireland. The only strong feelings I had were toward Northern Ireland and those feelings were disdain for both sides in that pathetic conflict.
Why should I feel any loyalty or love for a country my ancestors had to leave because, if they didn’t, they would have starved? Any pride I have in my ancestry is because there was someone brave enough to get the heck out - to get the heck out and go somewhere to have a better life. A better life not only for them, but for future generations, as well (i.e., me). Thus, I never wanted America to be more like Ireland. Now, it is true that Ireland is a lot different than it was 150-200 years ago, but, nonetheless, I have never longed for the “old country.”
When growing up, there were kids in my neighborhood who were first-generation Americans, so their parents did indeed come from the “old country.” They were not Irish - they were German - and they fled their homeland because of the Communists. If they had stayed, there was a good chance they would have been killed, and not just by starvation. For some reason, these kids did have pride in being German - maybe because they were not that far removed from the old country. Nonetheless, I always questioned that pride because their families fled to America in order to survive. Why take pride in a place that wanted to kill you?
The history of this country is replete with people coming here for a better life. One of our founding mottos was “E pluribus unum” - out of many, one. America was known as the great melting pot. No matter where you came from or why you came, you could be an American. It was not a blood right, it was a state of mind and a heartfelt feeling.
Over the past 30 years or more, we have had millions of people illegally crossing our southern border. Although I want America’s borders enforced, I cannot blame most of the illegals for crossing. After all, they are fleeing inept countries mired in poverty and corruption. Though the countries they come from are blessed with an abundance of natural resources and beauty, the governments there are a curse on the land and the people. So over our border they stream.
Though the illegals’ reasons for coming here are not much different than my Irish ancestors, America is not the same country anymore. “E pluribus unum,” the melting pot, has now become a cauldron of ethnic separatism. The left calls it “multiculturism” and “diversity” but what it really amounts to is pitting people against each other. Instead of being expected to become Americans, to adopt that state of mind and that heartfelt feeling, the illegals and other immigrants are encouraged to maintain their culture, a culture from which they fled.
Some immigrant groups and their left-wing supporters go even further than encouraging a cultural separatism. Groups like La Raza call for the return of lands “stolen” from Mexico. Thus, La Raza thinks it would be a good idea to return land that the illegals fled to back to the country most of them fled from. Here’s an idea: If you want to turn the United States into Mexico, why not just stay in Mexico? (As an aside, if the Southwestern U.S. is “returned” to Mexico, don’t you think sooner or later illegals will be flooding over those borders as well?)
Recently, Bertha Lewis, former president of the thoroughly disgraced and now-defunct Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), spoke at a Young Democratic Socialists (i.e., communist) pro-illegal immigration rally and celebrated that America will soon be a “majority people of color” nation. Ms. Lewis believes like many other leftists that how you think depends on your skin color. She, like the folks at La Raza, makes the mistake of believing that being an American has anything to do with skin color. Nonetheless, I do have a question for Ms. Lewis: What “majority people of color” country would you like America to resemble? In her speech, she singled out South Africa (which many refer to as the crime capital of the world) for special tribute. Thanks but no thanks, Ms. Lewis.
America, even today, is where the rest of the world goes to get away from the rest of the world. Why would we want it to be like the rest of the world? If La Raza has its way or Ms. Lewis’ bigoted dreams come true, where will people go to escape the tyranny and poverty that shrouds so much of our world? Ask the millions upon millions of immigrants who have come to this country over the years whether this country is exceptional. Not only will they answer that it is indeed exceptional, but it is also an exception.
David P. McGinley, an attorney from McLean, Va., is a visiting professor at Handong International Law School in South Korea.
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