- "There is no room in this country for hyphenated Americanism... a hyphenated American is not an American at all. This is just as true of the man who puts "native" before the hyphen as of the man who puts German or Irish or English or French before the hyphen. Americanism is a matter of the spirit and of the soul. Our allegiance must be purely to the United States. We must unsparingly condemn any man who holds any other allegiance. But if he is heartily and singly loyal to this Republic, then no matter where he was born, he is just as good an American as any one else.
- The one absolutely certain way of bringing this nation to ruin, of preventing all possibility of its continuing to be a nation at all, would be to permit it to become a tangle of squabbling nationalities, an intricate knot of German-Americans, Irish-Americans, English-Americans, French-Americans, Scandinavian-Americans or Italian-Americans, each preserving its separate nationality, each at heart feeling more sympathy with Europeans of that nationality, than with the other citizens of the American Republic. The men who do not become Americans and nothing else are hyphenated Americans; and there ought to be no room for them in this country. The man who calls himself an American citizen and who yet shows by his actions that he is primarily the citizen of a foreign land, plays a thoroughly mischievous part in the life of our body politic. He has no place here; and the sooner he returns to the land to which he feels his real heart-allegiance, the better it will be for every good American. There is no such thing as a hyphenated American who is a good American. The only man who is a good American is the man who is an American and nothing else.
That speech was made back in Teddy's day when the bulk o the immigrants were European. But it holds even MORE true today when everywhere you see the terms such as African-American, Mexican-American, predominantly but also the various Asian cultures. Vietnamese-American, Chinese-American...hell or just Asian-American; used EVERYWHERE. Same with the various latin backgrounds...but Mexican is the predominant one. It's become so prevalent it makes my mind and my gut churn with rage.
We have all these various self selected sub sets of people who insist on putting the appellations of their ethnic or country of origin backgrounds before the hyphen and before American. What has that netted us as a country? As a people? We are a nation divided. The country positively seethes with dissension, loathing, hatred and discontent. We as an American people have always had various troubles between the various..cultures. That's no great secret. But now it seems it's a deeper divide, a more solid thick wall and everyone has blinders on and earplugs firmly in place going 'la la la, I am not listening". The various cultures have been co opted and are no longer trying to acclimate themselves to America, they're trying to change it into what they left in the first place. All this factionalism does fuck all and accomplishes nothing except letting our enemies and those who hate our exceptionalism and freedom, creep further into the main and divide us all the more.
I don't know folks. Sometimes I wonder if we're not doomed after all. I've studied a fuckton of history over the years, I take the long view, and a pessimistic view at that; of the tides of time and history. The fate of our country. The willfully blind and stupid, and the frighteningly growing numbers of them, don't give me much hope. They rarely surprise me in their willful ignorance. Frustrate and annoy the hell out of me, oh yes. Surprise me?...not really. It's like the factions of old Rome, conniving to come up with more supposedly elegant, but in reality truly vicious plans to stab our brother in the back. And fuck ourselves over in the bargain as well because we fail to see the consequences. Too busy looking at the most immediate gains, and wanting instant gratification.
Aaach. I could keep going and ramble on even longer but you don't wanna listen to it I expect. go on, go out and enjoy your families, and this beautiful Sunday afternoon. However, keep what I've said in the back of your mind.
I now return you to your regularly scheduled inanity and insanity. TANSTAAFL
