robinann

    First, I do not understand the need of some visitors/residents in our country who insist upon altering long standing facts and laws to accommodate their own selfish/lazy ways. Years ago, many of our ancestors came to this country, some with no more than the clothing on their backs and a few coins in their pockets, if any. They brought their families if they were able, or sent for them after they had settled into a responsible life. Their journey to America was earned, many by the sweat and blood of their bodies. When they arrived here, they walked with a sense of accomplishment, in broad daylight, and proudly placed their names in the public record, making the statement that they had arrived to make America their new home, and promising to do their best to honor their new country’s hospitality.

    Now, we seem to have a whole new generation of people who slither into our country by dark of night, ashamed of themselves, ashamed of what they bring to the country they envy. To make matters worse, they are insisting that America accommodate their needs and desires.

    Personally, I feel this is merely a symptom of our society as a whole. We cannot assign them the sole blame for the faltering of the American way of life, envisioned by our forefathers, and planned for so carefully in a living, breathing document. I feel that the loss of intimacy is a large contributor to this breakdown. I do not mean physical intimacy, although it does enter into the equation; I mean the intimacy of family and its attendant lifestyle.

    As I mentioned earlier, many of our ancestors came to America speaking very little, if any, English. but in honoring their new homeland, they made every effort to understand not only the language, but the way of life they so actively sought. Sure, they continued to speak the language of their motherland; but it was usually spoken within their family and among close friends. I feel this was done as an act of intimacy; they had enough reverence for their ancestry not to wave it around and throw it in everyone’s face.  Yes, they were proud to be from Italy, Poland, Ireland, or wherever else; and they wore their ancestry proudly.

    Additionally, physical intimacy also plays into this downward avalanche of our societal patriotism. Years ago, much of what one sees on the street was reserved for the privacy of your own home — be it public displays of affection or airing your “dirty laundry” in public, arguing and the like. At that time, we honored the sanctity of our family’s soul, and as any good capitalist is aware, we have tarnished it by applying the principals of supply and demand. Think about it, many tangible commodities that we value — gold, diamonds, certain cuts of meat or a specific year’s crop of grapes fermented into a wine — are valuable by their very rarity. How many times have we heard news reports of someone trashing the value of a stock by “flooding the market”? Isn’t that what we have done with what we once held sacred? We have “flooded the market” with our public displays of private moments, cheapening what we should dearly value.

    In my opinion, that is what many residents are doing to their ethnicity. Rather than holding their ancestry close to their hearts,  a foundation and source of pride, they are throwing it about, making it cheap, prostituting their lineage for the sake of a few dollars; painting it as a harlot, with paint that they are calling “equity”. Why not take a lesson from those who have gone before and add to your own value by respecting the value of that which you seek.

    It is yours to earn, but it is not for us to hand to you

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