Cinco de What?
Just a little disclaimer to start: I was born in Los Angeles, CA. I learned about the Spanish missions along the Coast and California's proud Spanish/Mexican heritage. My first real friend was from a Mexican-American family -- in fact, the Chavez's had been in California since the early 1800's, they regarded us (and the illegals) as unwelcome newcomers. I regard Mexican food as the food that I grew up with. But I am an American, not a Californian, not "English" or "German."
"ILLEGAL is a legal status, not a race, nationality or ethnicity." American citizens, whether of Mexican, German, Italian, Japanese (etc.) origin ... are AMERICAN and not "Mexican", "German", "Italian", "Japanese," etc. That is absolutely implicit in citizenship. Once you take the oath of citizenship, or are born here ... you become AMERICAN. And your AMERICAN citizenship trumps everything else. Your loyalty is first and foremost to the United States of America -- where you take that oath, it should be clear. If you decide not to be American citizen, or have not yet had the opportunity to take the oath, then you remain in the United States at the sufferance of the citizens of this country, a guest.
Being an American citizen is a great gift and honor. Nowhere on this beautiful green and blue planet have people so desperately sought to come to live. It is the land of hope and opportunity -- and laws -- and we need to cherish and support all three to remain remain precisely that. And only by being Americans, all of us, from whatever creed or color or ethnic background can we preserve and achieve our American destiny. That means, we are not first Muslim, Jewish, Christian, Irish, African, Mexican or Asian -- we are Americans and our backgrounds are only relevant as a personal reflection on our heritage. This almost sounds Communist!!!
BUT if, as a citizen or guest, that offends you or does not meet your criteria, then you should leave. You have that right. And do me a favor ... make it soon.
Why the speech? An absurdity that took place in California yesterday.
Cinco de Mayo is NOT a big deal holiday in Mexico. It is not the most patriotic day in Mexico -- that would be their independence day.... So what is it? It celebrates a defeat of the French army by the Mexican army. That's it. It is celebrated in the state of Puebla, and almost nowhere else within Mexico. Here in the U.S., it has come to be thought of as Mexico's 4th of July. It is not. Not even close ... it has been boosted by savvy restauranteurs and beer brewers as a "Mexican Celebration Day," commercialized in a way similar to Mother's Day being a creation of a little-known Methodist Minister and Hallmark.
Wikipedia wants us to believe that it is a day of celebration of Mexican heritage and ancestry for Mexican-Americans, analogous to St. Patrick's Day, Oktoberfest, Chinese New Years. Hmmm.. Well those days happen to be real big-deals in their home countries, completely non-political, not remotely related to military actions, and those celebrations were imported along with the immigrants that came from those countries. The purpose is not national pride. The purpose is to get hammered. Those are not recent confections, and are of limited significance.
Which brings me to the point of this posting: 5 children were sent home from school in the San Francisco Bay area yesterday for wearing the American FLAG on their clothing. Mexican-Americans in their school thought that this was disrespectful "we wouldn't wear the Mexican Flag on the 4th of July" was the statement of a Mexican-American teen at that school. I should frikkin well hope not, unless it was represented in tandem with the flag of THIS country, celebrating our independence from the tyranny of Britain!
Let's get a few things clear here: (1) WE ARE IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, and not Mexico; (2) IT IS NEVER DISRESPECTFUL TO WEAR THE FLAG OF YOUR COUNTRY WITHIN YOUR COUNTRY NO MATTER THE DAY; (3) TO WEAR THE MEXICAN FLAG ON THE 4TH OF JULY WOULD BE DISRESPECTFUL WHILE IN THE UNITED STATES -- ESPECIALLY IF MEANT IN PROTEST AND WHILE RECEIVING THE BENEFITS AND PROTECTIONS OF THE TAXPAYERS OF THE UNITED STATES; (4) Other ethnic groups also celebrate their heritage with the American flag intertwined with a flag representing their origins, PROUD to be Americans.
Herein lies one of the fundamental problems with the Arizona law and the sheer numbers of economic migrants: prior to the Latin-American invasion, (largely legal) immigrants to this country took pride to become citizens, learn the language, and re-invest their lives and families in the United States of America. Even illegal immigrants sought to invest in the American Dream, learn the language ... become Americans. They did not come to make money and go home. They did not come to work to send money home. They came -- mostly out of dire necessity (and in that nothing has changed) to take part in the American miracle.
Italian and German immigrants forbade the use of their mother tongue at home with their children -- so that their children became American in thought, word and deed. Yes, it was the melting pot -- but unified in the sense that immigrants sought to bring their gifts to the unified table of American identity, citizenship and the English language ... language being the glue that allows the whole to hold together.
Economic migrants -- whatever their status, legal or not -- are here at the sufferance of the United States and its citizens. They do not and should not have ANY say in our political or other affairs. They should not be free to insult us and our institutions. If they decide they like the place and want to become citizens, then we should afford them the opportunity to become Americans, learning our history, culture and language.
I invite anyone to watch the swearing-in ceremony of any new group of citizens and challenge them to come away unmoved. The sheer pride and achievement on the faces of the newly minted AMERICANS is proof enough that the vision of our forefathers was just and true. We cannot let "political correctness" and the complete lack of courage in Washington deface over 200 years of the American Miracle.
And the school district in California owes every American citizen an apology.
"ILLEGAL is a legal status, not a race, nationality or ethnicity." American citizens, whether of Mexican, German, Italian, Japanese (etc.) origin ... are AMERICAN and not "Mexican", "German", "Italian", "Japanese," etc. That is absolutely implicit in citizenship. Once you take the oath of citizenship, or are born here ... you become AMERICAN. And your AMERICAN citizenship trumps everything else. Your loyalty is first and foremost to the United States of America -- where you take that oath, it should be clear. If you decide not to be American citizen, or have not yet had the opportunity to take the oath, then you remain in the United States at the sufferance of the citizens of this country, a guest.
Being an American citizen is a great gift and honor. Nowhere on this beautiful green and blue planet have people so desperately sought to come to live. It is the land of hope and opportunity -- and laws -- and we need to cherish and support all three to remain remain precisely that. And only by being Americans, all of us, from whatever creed or color or ethnic background can we preserve and achieve our American destiny. That means, we are not first Muslim, Jewish, Christian, Irish, African, Mexican or Asian -- we are Americans and our backgrounds are only relevant as a personal reflection on our heritage. This almost sounds Communist!!!
BUT if, as a citizen or guest, that offends you or does not meet your criteria, then you should leave. You have that right. And do me a favor ... make it soon.
Why the speech? An absurdity that took place in California yesterday.
Cinco de Mayo is NOT a big deal holiday in Mexico. It is not the most patriotic day in Mexico -- that would be their independence day.... So what is it? It celebrates a defeat of the French army by the Mexican army. That's it. It is celebrated in the state of Puebla, and almost nowhere else within Mexico. Here in the U.S., it has come to be thought of as Mexico's 4th of July. It is not. Not even close ... it has been boosted by savvy restauranteurs and beer brewers as a "Mexican Celebration Day," commercialized in a way similar to Mother's Day being a creation of a little-known Methodist Minister and Hallmark.
Wikipedia wants us to believe that it is a day of celebration of Mexican heritage and ancestry for Mexican-Americans, analogous to St. Patrick's Day, Oktoberfest, Chinese New Years. Hmmm.. Well those days happen to be real big-deals in their home countries, completely non-political, not remotely related to military actions, and those celebrations were imported along with the immigrants that came from those countries. The purpose is not national pride. The purpose is to get hammered. Those are not recent confections, and are of limited significance.
Which brings me to the point of this posting: 5 children were sent home from school in the San Francisco Bay area yesterday for wearing the American FLAG on their clothing. Mexican-Americans in their school thought that this was disrespectful "we wouldn't wear the Mexican Flag on the 4th of July" was the statement of a Mexican-American teen at that school. I should frikkin well hope not, unless it was represented in tandem with the flag of THIS country, celebrating our independence from the tyranny of Britain!
Let's get a few things clear here: (1) WE ARE IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, and not Mexico; (2) IT IS NEVER DISRESPECTFUL TO WEAR THE FLAG OF YOUR COUNTRY WITHIN YOUR COUNTRY NO MATTER THE DAY; (3) TO WEAR THE MEXICAN FLAG ON THE 4TH OF JULY WOULD BE DISRESPECTFUL WHILE IN THE UNITED STATES -- ESPECIALLY IF MEANT IN PROTEST AND WHILE RECEIVING THE BENEFITS AND PROTECTIONS OF THE TAXPAYERS OF THE UNITED STATES; (4) Other ethnic groups also celebrate their heritage with the American flag intertwined with a flag representing their origins, PROUD to be Americans.
Herein lies one of the fundamental problems with the Arizona law and the sheer numbers of economic migrants: prior to the Latin-American invasion, (largely legal) immigrants to this country took pride to become citizens, learn the language, and re-invest their lives and families in the United States of America. Even illegal immigrants sought to invest in the American Dream, learn the language ... become Americans. They did not come to make money and go home. They did not come to work to send money home. They came -- mostly out of dire necessity (and in that nothing has changed) to take part in the American miracle.
Italian and German immigrants forbade the use of their mother tongue at home with their children -- so that their children became American in thought, word and deed. Yes, it was the melting pot -- but unified in the sense that immigrants sought to bring their gifts to the unified table of American identity, citizenship and the English language ... language being the glue that allows the whole to hold together.
Economic migrants -- whatever their status, legal or not -- are here at the sufferance of the United States and its citizens. They do not and should not have ANY say in our political or other affairs. They should not be free to insult us and our institutions. If they decide they like the place and want to become citizens, then we should afford them the opportunity to become Americans, learning our history, culture and language.
I invite anyone to watch the swearing-in ceremony of any new group of citizens and challenge them to come away unmoved. The sheer pride and achievement on the faces of the newly minted AMERICANS is proof enough that the vision of our forefathers was just and true. We cannot let "political correctness" and the complete lack of courage in Washington deface over 200 years of the American Miracle.
And the school district in California owes every American citizen an apology.
posted by Zaphod at Thursday, May 06, 2010
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