Hyphenated America
Wednesday, February 9th, 2011In a time when people claim to want unity, we seem to increasing divide ourselves in America I am not speaking of politics or religion. Most people can have differing viewpoints and still get along. The division I speak of is our modern tendency to hyphenate ourselves. Very few people regard themselves as just plain American.
Ask anyone to refer to a black man and they will say that he is an African-American. What makes him an African-American? Did he recently emigrate from Africa? What if that same man emigrated from England? Wouldn’t that make him a European-American? Must we assume that a man is African in origin just because he is black? How can any man, or woman, be African when he never set foot in Africa? The bigger question is: why is he not just an American? No one can be both African and American at the same time.
How many times have you applied for a job and the application asks for your race? When applying for college you are asked for your ethnicity. The 2010 census even wanted to know your racial origin. Race is more of an issue today in America than at any other time because we insist on dividing ourselves according to skin color. There was a time when individuals immigrated to America and adopted the American way of life. That is not to say that they did not keep some of the traditions from their home country. But, they did not force others to accept those traditions. Immigrants who came here adopted America and gladly took the title American, severing all ties with their home land. They made certain that their children were educated in American schools, teaching them to be Americans and to love their adoptive country. But all of that has changed.
Today many native born Americans shun their own country. They prefer to align themselves with other cultural identities. This trend has been fueled by progressives and the politically correct crowd. Our media, representatives, and popular culture encourages people to think of themselves as anything other than uniquely American. Instead we use terms such as, African-American, European-American, Chinese-American, Mexican-American, Native American (referring to American Indians), or Turkish-American, and the list goes on.
I am a Native American. Anyone born and raised in America, assuming their parents are American citizens, is a Native American. A native of any land or area is a person who is born and raised there. America is my home. I have spent my entire life in America. Why must my skin be of a certain color in order for me to be considered as such?
Our politically correct society has made us proud to be anything other than American. We celebrate black pride or Hispanic pride, but never American pride. Even our president finds it difficult to celebrate American holidays. (Have you noticed how on days that are important to Americans, President Obama is out of the country or on vacation?) Is being an American so shameful that we must shun it?
There are illegal immigrants all over the country who are proud to be illegal. They get all of the benefits of being an American, yet refuse to become Americans. In public schools, especially in California, bilingual classes are offered. Why? Because they have huge Hispanic population, most of whom are illegal. Instead of forcing the students to learn English and adopt the American way of life, we cater to them and enforce the idea that they do not need to integrate. Call any 800 number and you will have to press 1 for English, 2 for Spanish, 3 for French, etc. Such measures breed division.
This tendency to segregate ourselves with hyphenated terms keeps us alienated. The saying, “Divided we fall” is very true. We must unite as Americans under the stars and stripes, proud of our country despite its flaws. Forsake the hyphenated terms and the notion that we must segregate ourselves according to race. Regardless or of our differences, we must stand together as Americans united in the belief that every individual has certain inalienable rights that come not from any mortal being or government, but from God.