This is well stated. I embrace my American heritage. I am proud of it. Frankly, I am dismayed that as an American, I must accept all cultures any ethnicity. Fact: many cultures are not compatible with American culture. People can immigrate into America and should accept our heritage as their own along with accepting America now as their home. They have left their birth country and culture behind. What culture new Americans keep belongs in their homes not forcing us to forego our heritage and accept theirs. American heritage is not universal for the very reasons Adam has stated in the essay. The hubris of believing that American values should be practiced by the world is a mistake. This idea is no different than the religious zealots that attempt to impose their “God” on everyone else because they know best.
American heritage is for the Unites States. It is what makes our country strong and unique. We need to embrace it and stop believing it can be conveyed through the entire world.
I respect and admire Vivek. I love how his family arrived in America, wholeheartedly made the USA home , and completely embraced the American ideals. In his defense, I think Vivek is making a sales pitch for America. He is disheartened by the leftists , loves Americanism, and wishes to preserve our heritage through persuasion. I agree, he is misguided in stating that it is universal instead of expounding our uniqueness.
We do share our humanity but not the uniqueness of our American heritage.
You need to look no further than England or France. Both countries embraced mass migration years ago and how are they doing now? Why do we think we’ll be different? Look at Rashida Talib or Ilhan Rohan. Do you think they are representing America well in Congress? Do you think making negative statements about the country adds to our republic?
Some people should not be brought into the US. I’m an immigrant who loves America. I have family who don’t live in America and they make very negative comments about the US. They are my family, but I do not want them coming to America. Why? If you don’t believe in what America stands for, then it’s best you don’t come.
No, the constitution is not for the world, it’s for those who live in the US and value it. There are lots of other countries in the world. Go there.
You're quite mistaken. This Nation is a nation because of the principles of the Declaration espoused by Jefferson and others.
Tradition, customs and certain other understandings underpin and gird these principles. Our history as a Nation vivifies them.
However, ‘Blut und Boden’ is not American. Traditions and customs aren't definitive; the Declaration, much, much, much more so.
It is the set of ideas espousedby the Founders that birthed this Nation; indeed, there's a short proclamation, which used to be well known, entitled ‘The American Creed’.
History, tradition and customs can bind this Nation together; they don't define it.
There are certain families in New Mexico and Texas whose roots predate Jamestown. Their traditions are most certainly not Anglo-Saxon. Are we to deny or disparage their full participation in the life of this Nation?
I'm part Penobscot, so I could well ask, what do you Europeans think you're doing here? Are the Native American's qualities that the settlers respected to be disparaged?
Your analysis is lacking in understanding and American brotherhood.
A cap on immigration like the act of 1924 is long overdue. Simply because after reaching a certain point in group size you have to go through the forming, storming, norming, performing cycle which takes time (40-50 years or roughly 2 generations). Assimilation isn’t some magical process that happens overnight.
My family lineage traces back to the early Plymouth Colony and includes direct descendance from six Mayflower passengers, but I agree with Vivek. The foundational principles promoted in the establishment of our country are universal, and people around the world continue to naturally gravitate toward these, if not to America itself. However, most of my extended family today are leftists, including some hard-core ones in the knee-jerk anti-American camp. I believe that many Heritage Americans today are America's worst nightmare.
Political scientist Peter Schramm famously recounted living in communist-controlled Hungary when his father told him to pack his bags because they were moving to America. "Why America?" he asked. "Because son, we were born American, just in the wrong place." That spirit exemplifies the universal human longing for freedom that propelled immigrants that strengthened this nation and inspired others to improve their own nations by emulating our system. The main thing the other countries have gotten wrong is the failure to include a "Bill of Rights" in their constitution.
My 4 grandparents came from Poland. My late father fought in the European theater (US Army, 3rd Division), and saw the horrors of Dachau with his own eyes. In the 1930s, the KKK came to my mother's village near Pittsburgh and burned a cross on the hill because the village's coal miners were eastern European and Catholic.
Plus: "Loyalty to the white race, to the traditions of America, and to the spirit of Protestantism .. has been an essential part of Americanism ever since the days of Roanoke and Plymouth Rock" - Hiram Wesley Evans, KKK imperial wizard, 1926.
Does this embody the idea of 'heritage Americans'? A century later, and we see certain nasty ideas are still alive.
Nevertheless, what might happen if America had a draft with mandatory military service for all high school graduates (including H1-B immigrants and people with student visas, and no student deferments)? It would impress on generations the concrete linkage of America's rights with responsibilities.
My current working theory on this topic goes as follows:
1) American blood exists, likely as what could come to be considered multiple ‘native ethnicities’ depending on where you are. We do occupy most of a continent after all.
Side note: I don’t think the states are always great dividers for these anymore, but they probably used to be. And they still kind of work.
2) Americans are ruled over by our sovereign Constitution.
3) This ‘empty throne’ is stewarded by our President, Congress, and Supreme Court.
4) Americans tend to be the most rabid loyalists left in the West.
5) Because of this loyalty to the throne, two attitudes follow:
5.1) Sincere welcome to those who swear themselves to our sovereign. This includes marrying individuals into American families and even integrating new communities at times.
5.2) Deep disgust for disloyal blood.
ETA Current attitudes towards the Somalis probably point towards a 5.3) False oaths are a hostile act against the throne.
This is well stated. I embrace my American heritage. I am proud of it. Frankly, I am dismayed that as an American, I must accept all cultures any ethnicity. Fact: many cultures are not compatible with American culture. People can immigrate into America and should accept our heritage as their own along with accepting America now as their home. They have left their birth country and culture behind. What culture new Americans keep belongs in their homes not forcing us to forego our heritage and accept theirs. American heritage is not universal for the very reasons Adam has stated in the essay. The hubris of believing that American values should be practiced by the world is a mistake. This idea is no different than the religious zealots that attempt to impose their “God” on everyone else because they know best.
American heritage is for the Unites States. It is what makes our country strong and unique. We need to embrace it and stop believing it can be conveyed through the entire world.
I respect and admire Vivek. I love how his family arrived in America, wholeheartedly made the USA home , and completely embraced the American ideals. In his defense, I think Vivek is making a sales pitch for America. He is disheartened by the leftists , loves Americanism, and wishes to preserve our heritage through persuasion. I agree, he is misguided in stating that it is universal instead of expounding our uniqueness.
We do share our humanity but not the uniqueness of our American heritage.
Vivek is a tribal Indian. He is not fit for office anywhere other than India.
You need to look no further than England or France. Both countries embraced mass migration years ago and how are they doing now? Why do we think we’ll be different? Look at Rashida Talib or Ilhan Rohan. Do you think they are representing America well in Congress? Do you think making negative statements about the country adds to our republic?
Some people should not be brought into the US. I’m an immigrant who loves America. I have family who don’t live in America and they make very negative comments about the US. They are my family, but I do not want them coming to America. Why? If you don’t believe in what America stands for, then it’s best you don’t come.
No, the constitution is not for the world, it’s for those who live in the US and value it. There are lots of other countries in the world. Go there.
You're quite mistaken. This Nation is a nation because of the principles of the Declaration espoused by Jefferson and others.
Tradition, customs and certain other understandings underpin and gird these principles. Our history as a Nation vivifies them.
However, ‘Blut und Boden’ is not American. Traditions and customs aren't definitive; the Declaration, much, much, much more so.
It is the set of ideas espousedby the Founders that birthed this Nation; indeed, there's a short proclamation, which used to be well known, entitled ‘The American Creed’.
History, tradition and customs can bind this Nation together; they don't define it.
There are certain families in New Mexico and Texas whose roots predate Jamestown. Their traditions are most certainly not Anglo-Saxon. Are we to deny or disparage their full participation in the life of this Nation?
I'm part Penobscot, so I could well ask, what do you Europeans think you're doing here? Are the Native American's qualities that the settlers respected to be disparaged?
Your analysis is lacking in understanding and American brotherhood.
“There is no American who is more American than somebody else. … It’s crazy talk. … We believe in ideals. That is who we are.”
Fucking retarded pahjeet 😐
A cap on immigration like the act of 1924 is long overdue. Simply because after reaching a certain point in group size you have to go through the forming, storming, norming, performing cycle which takes time (40-50 years or roughly 2 generations). Assimilation isn’t some magical process that happens overnight.
E Pluribus Unum
My family lineage traces back to the early Plymouth Colony and includes direct descendance from six Mayflower passengers, but I agree with Vivek. The foundational principles promoted in the establishment of our country are universal, and people around the world continue to naturally gravitate toward these, if not to America itself. However, most of my extended family today are leftists, including some hard-core ones in the knee-jerk anti-American camp. I believe that many Heritage Americans today are America's worst nightmare.
Political scientist Peter Schramm famously recounted living in communist-controlled Hungary when his father told him to pack his bags because they were moving to America. "Why America?" he asked. "Because son, we were born American, just in the wrong place." That spirit exemplifies the universal human longing for freedom that propelled immigrants that strengthened this nation and inspired others to improve their own nations by emulating our system. The main thing the other countries have gotten wrong is the failure to include a "Bill of Rights" in their constitution.
My 4 grandparents came from Poland. My late father fought in the European theater (US Army, 3rd Division), and saw the horrors of Dachau with his own eyes. In the 1930s, the KKK came to my mother's village near Pittsburgh and burned a cross on the hill because the village's coal miners were eastern European and Catholic.
Plus: "Loyalty to the white race, to the traditions of America, and to the spirit of Protestantism .. has been an essential part of Americanism ever since the days of Roanoke and Plymouth Rock" - Hiram Wesley Evans, KKK imperial wizard, 1926.
Does this embody the idea of 'heritage Americans'? A century later, and we see certain nasty ideas are still alive.
Nevertheless, what might happen if America had a draft with mandatory military service for all high school graduates (including H1-B immigrants and people with student visas, and no student deferments)? It would impress on generations the concrete linkage of America's rights with responsibilities.
Link to article on the KKK and Catholics: https://www.oursundayvisitor.com/catholicism-and-the-revisited-history-of-the-ku-klux-klan/
My current working theory on this topic goes as follows:
1) American blood exists, likely as what could come to be considered multiple ‘native ethnicities’ depending on where you are. We do occupy most of a continent after all.
Side note: I don’t think the states are always great dividers for these anymore, but they probably used to be. And they still kind of work.
2) Americans are ruled over by our sovereign Constitution.
3) This ‘empty throne’ is stewarded by our President, Congress, and Supreme Court.
4) Americans tend to be the most rabid loyalists left in the West.
5) Because of this loyalty to the throne, two attitudes follow:
5.1) Sincere welcome to those who swear themselves to our sovereign. This includes marrying individuals into American families and even integrating new communities at times.
5.2) Deep disgust for disloyal blood.
ETA Current attitudes towards the Somalis probably point towards a 5.3) False oaths are a hostile act against the throne.
I agree that heritage can not be ignored but I guess my question is, after establishing heritage to Americans who else gets to claim this title?
Are legal immigrants not American? Are their children? Can the American identity only tied to blood ties?
I think any one can TRY to be American but not all will succeed based on law and if they assimilate and will up hold law and customs