Re: You can differ all you want, but my statement above is still accurate.
No, it's inaccurate, as the following excerpt shows:
America, the great melting pot, has welcomed millions of immigrants in its 227 years. But gone are the days when immigrants eagerly assimilated, urged by teachers and government officials. Hanson notes that an Italian or Jew knew that if he did not take up English and the American system, he would be left behind while his peers moved ahead. When Hanson was in school his teachers instilled in all students a sense of personal possibility, taught them a love of country, and gave them the tools to learn. For immigrant children, failure to assimilate meant a career in fruit picking and a place in the underclass. Hanson's fellow second graders turned into principals, teachers, government employees, and businessmen. His classmates were eager to communicate in English and to succeed as Americans, and they did.
Today, however, that is not the case. A separatist culture exists and is encouraged by intellectual elites, the multiculturalists, and politicians from both parties. Multiculturalists have hijacked classrooms in order to teach self-esteem building, among other things. And some Mexicans have come to the realization that if they do not learn English or join American society, there will be thousands of others like them. Forming a community outside of regular society is the solution to the language and barrier problems, or so the argument goes. The result is an increasingly separate and unequal society. Not exactly the goal of our Founders.
There is neither pressure nor incentive to Americanize. In fact our government accommodates those who fail to assimilate with state services including welfare, subsidized housing and even unemployment benefits, all offered unconditionally and in Spanish! Citizenship is still offered to children born in America regardless of the mother's legal status. Why do we do this?
[...]
(excerpted from the footnote in my previous post) |
