Before You Become an American
The American Thinker is one of the most intelligent, honest, and logical sites on the net and I usually read everything offered on it. Best of all is that it challenges the conventional wisdom of the MSM with logic and facts rather than emotional screeds.
Today it has another interesting and thought provoking article on multi-culturalism and the melting pot ideology vs the mosaic ideology. It offers the following about Australia.
Australia has, again, set an example for other western nations on embracing traditional Western values rather than apologizing for them as so many on the left would have it. The Australian Treasurer Peter Costello has sharply criticized "mushy misguided multiculturalism", going on to state, "Before entering a mosque visitors are asked to take off their shoes. This is a sign of respect. If you have a strong objection to walking in your socks don't enter the mosque. Before becoming an Australian you will be asked to subscribe to certain values. If you have strong objection to those values don't come to Australia."
Shouldn't America adopt the same attitude toward those who want to come here? Why is it that immigrants can come to America and we expect nothing of them but they demand of us? It does not matter what country they come from or what their culture is. My Swedish grandparents had to give up a few traditions to become Americans and so must these people.
If you object to the traditional values of America, don't come here to live.
Today it has another interesting and thought provoking article on multi-culturalism and the melting pot ideology vs the mosaic ideology. It offers the following about Australia.
Australia has, again, set an example for other western nations on embracing traditional Western values rather than apologizing for them as so many on the left would have it. The Australian Treasurer Peter Costello has sharply criticized "mushy misguided multiculturalism", going on to state, "Before entering a mosque visitors are asked to take off their shoes. This is a sign of respect. If you have a strong objection to walking in your socks don't enter the mosque. Before becoming an Australian you will be asked to subscribe to certain values. If you have strong objection to those values don't come to Australia."
Shouldn't America adopt the same attitude toward those who want to come here? Why is it that immigrants can come to America and we expect nothing of them but they demand of us? It does not matter what country they come from or what their culture is. My Swedish grandparents had to give up a few traditions to become Americans and so must these people.
If you object to the traditional values of America, don't come here to live.
posted by shoprat at 7:30 PM
18 Comments:
While I agree with you, I am wondering what traditions Swedish immigrants gave up besides speaking Swedish? Also, Australia is very liberal, and "socialist". Way more based on the European social welfare state than the American system. I have a friend from there, and he would beg to differ with your thesis. I understand that you are only talking about this one particular instance, but when you view both the USA and Australia side by side, it's a lot more like the UK than the USA. Still, I think that you are right about having to bend over backwards to accomodate every crackpot multiculural complaint out there.
Yea, that's a good piece, and although I don't know a thing about Swedish people I'd have to echo alot of what Tim is saying on this. It made perfect sense to me...
Sorry. That's too much like common sense. Go to the back of the bus in penance.
BZ
I will go with Shoprat on this one 100%.
My grandparents arrived in New York in 1928 and 1932, respectively, from the Ukraine and Poland.
They assimilated posthaste, making priorities of learning to speak English and embrace the American way of life and the way we "do business here". They instilled a sense of what it is to be a patriotic American in all of us family members who were born later, here.
When I see/meet immigrants who are obviously only in America for financial convenience and could give a tinker's damn about becoming Americans or, worse, express a belief that the U.S. should accommodate their old country way of doing things rather than the other way around, I wonder, and have been known to inquire, "Then why are you here?"
I absolutely agree with you too. Why are Muslims and Mexicans who won't honor our traditions here in the first place? It doesn't make any sense. I have never been in a foreign country where I didn't attempt to learn something about the language so that I could communicate. I've been to Mexico, Germany, Italy and England. Of course, England was the easiest. LOL! But I spoke, albeit poorly, Mexican in Mexico, German in Germany, and Italian in Italy. To bad I don't have the ability to retain more than two languages at a time without getting confused, but I digress. The point is, I tried! We Americans are called "arrogant" by most of the world, while in reality we are learning what real arrogance is from many hispanics and Muslims.
I've also been to Canada, but as I had English-speaking hosts I didn't attempt to learn French.
Nice post, I agree with you all the way on this. My grandfather came here from Slovenia when he was a kid and instilled the same values that seem to be disappearing in the USA.
I had the pleasure of driving tour bus with many older immagrants and 1st generation Americans... they were more proud to be Americans than most Americans that were born here. They gave up many things to be here ..family, friends, and their homes, maybe altough they brought many of the beliefs and traditions they were raised with, they also embraced the "American" way of life.. The US didn't have to post everything inmultiple languages, nor did anyone have to press"2", go to any other country and tell them you want to live there but they have to adjust to you and the whole country must change to do things your way and accept your view.. If you want things to be the way they were in your homeland then go back there
AMERICA... LOVE IT OR PACK YOR S*** AND GO HOME
By the way, Shop, I REALLY like the American Thinker website! Excellent material!
BZ
The American Thinker is one of my favorites as well. The immigrants must be assimilated... resistance is futile. LOL, sorry, showing my inner dork.
Thanks for the link! Sounds like a great read!
tim Language is a biggie and is one of the things that many (not all but many) are now refusing to budge on. They gave up Swedish national holidays, clothing styles - which varied more by nation @1900 than they do today - and enough that they noticed it.
BZ I love common sense until it smacks me in the face.
Skip It's a pity Grandpa A died before you had a chance to meet him, but you were in diapers when he died.
dd It's one of the best sites on the web IMHO
Rest thanks.
Hi fellow ShopRat!
I wanted to leave you a website in which you just might be interested in. Becuase you are proud to be a shop rat please check out www.shoprat.org.
Thanks,
Your fellow Shop Rat
Australia and Peter Costello rock!!! Awesome quote!!
I put this in my files to talk about on the radio show next Monday, great find!!
Immigrants like your Swedish grandparents and my Italian great grandparents gave up traditions of their own culture in order to be considered Americans first and fought for the right to do so. Today's immigrants are willing to give up nothing, and actually fight for the right not to be considered America, but to retain the identity of their original culture.
And, unfortunately, what incentive do they have to adopt American identity when our own elites increasingly disparage it...?
Most liberals of my aquaintence could not take the oath of citizenship in good conscience. Now you want a set of core values to boot?
I agree and Australia has far, far stricter immigration rules than we have, I was considering the move under Clinton. You have to be under a certain age and have a marketable skill to become a citizen. I have to wonder why they aren't one of the world's greatest naval powers. Something I will have to ask Otto.
Australia has had it's problems with the Muslims. For instance neighborhoods where the police will not go because of the violence that erupts at thier presence. This has been a growing problem, and the Muslim immigrants refuse to assimilate. But it seems that the political class is finally coming to grips with the Muslim problem. I have no idea when, or even if, our own political class will wake up.
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