Zero sum scenarios and play off games ...

... oy! I back off for one week due to family being in town and play off games I'm trying to win - by the way the middle linebacker who happens to share my DNA scored a TD last Saturday, talk about Irish pride - and low and behold Titus comes clamoring, fit to be tied (up by Trevor no doubt) over the absence. Hey buddy, I'd wager an F.Ryan win in a 1:1 comparison of total posts made for 2009, so watch it ... amigo.

Well, as you well know the question of assimilation vs integration is hardly a zero sum game. The very premise reminds me of leftists whom seem to believe that for one man to get rich, another must be made (or remain) poor. Or that if we cut taxes it lowers receipts to the Treasury - where in reality cutting taxes creates more tax payers, a preferable and more coffer lucrative venture than creating more tax law. At any rate, I think badboy is asking slightly the wrong question. Rather than "are you an American", I would submit the interrogative - "what is an American?" Long is the tradition of ethnic restaurants, neighborhoods, clubs and parades which celebrate the origin of an immigrant heritage within our nation. Unlike Germany, France, India or any other nation on earth, here, one can be born a foreigner yet become an American. No matter how many bitter pints you throw back, EU taxes you pay, or Lederhosen you wear, you can not "become" German. This makes us unique, uniquely strong.

However, exactly what is the heat source which causes the "meld" or "melt" within the melting pot? There must be some identity we can all share, be we from France, Zimbabwe, or New Delhi. There IS a uniquely American culture, is their not? It isn't simply a barren canvas with no record or history proceeding the newly arrived is it? Now granted, "culture" is a subjective term, however, I don't think it unreasonable to present "language", in specific the English language, as part of the American culture. There are other attributes such as our hyper (compared to all other experiments in democracy) personal liberty; the Bill of Rights; our Constitution; our emphasis on the individual's responsibility for his own success and needs (I'm talking historical perspective, not the age of Obama); our disdain for class-born status, all of these I would argue are part of the uniquely American culture. But in addition to these large philosophical aspects there are those "little" threads, seemingly little that is. For if you pull upon them the tapestry of our nation unravels. What is "culture" after all then a series of prized traditions? Baseball is part of our distinctly American culture. Christmas, also a part. Our Independence Day being the 4th of July, aslo a part. Gun ownership, private property rights, no trespassing signs, the hamburger, Western expansionism, ALL part of our prized traditions or "culture." Is our traditional language, that binding force, that instrument of success not also a part of our tradition, our culture? Should it be championed any less than the above? I say no. Because it takes all of these disparate cultures, ethnicities, creeds and colors and gives them some aspect of unity in order that the melting pot might thrive. So I have reservations about the term "forced." Forced? Outside of Cuba residing terrorists very few are "forced" onto these shores. They come here in search of a better life and we owe it to them to encourage through law and community an assimilation of language. Not at the expense of their native tongue, but rather to ensure they become a native of their new nation.

Let me put it another way. To pull out your wallet, remove a $5 bill and place it in the hand of a homeless person is about the least compassionate thing you can do all day. Because that act is for the giver's benefit, not the receiver. It is to make you feel good about yourself, not helping that poor soul's life. Rather if every single passerby refused to dole out funds of any kind, by mere base survival instinct that man or woman will end up in a soup kitchen, or sober facility, or at least in doors, increasing his chances to find real, long term help exponentially. With each dollar forked over you enable a fellow human being to live on the street, in squalor, for just that much longer. I ask you ... is that compassion? Is that being sensitive? Is that enabling that person to succeed? Cow towing to those that would call me a nativist, or even racist because I insist my fellow Americans learn English are simply enabling failure. It is the quintessential "soft bigotry of low expectations."

Now I would agree that the newly arrived shouldn't be required to watch baseball, so no, not every aspect of American culture should be required by law ... but then again their future, their personal success and even their safety in an emergency situation doesn't depend on knowing the rule on a ground roll double, does it? But language, that is a glue which binds the individual to both his neighbor, and his potential. And that is much too important to allow "press 1 for English." The automated voice might as well continue with, press 2 to limit your income; press 3 to be unable to help your children with their homework; press 4 to be unable to communicate with paramedics if your husband has a heart attack; press 5 if ...

I believe this statement to be unique to our nation - only by assimilation can the individual immigrant fully appreciate and experience the freedom they have to cherish, preserve and protect the cultural heritage of their native lands. In other words being a fully assimilated proud American makes you a better Irishman, Italian, Japanese, Vietnemese, Brazilian . . .