Answer me this:

RetiredAtLast said:

Why do people burn the flag of the nation that they have left everything to be part of, yet parade and wave the flag of the country that they are resisting going back to?

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Do you not understand that a big part of the American experience, the melting pot, is the right to be woven into the American tapestry without having to let go of your roots?

This is why we have the Italian American clubs, the Polish American clubs, Greek-American clubs .... etc. This is why we have Chinatowns' and Japan towns and Little Italy's, robust St. Paddy Day parades, Cinco De Mayo celebrations. This also why American cities have incredible ethnic food; where Americans can enjoy the cuisine of the world, proudly presented by Americans from that part of the world.

We are a nation of immigrants .... until recently, most of us celebrated American ethnic diversity manifesting itself in cruisine and ethnic celebrations. We are all Americans, but we never forget where we have come from. A big part of American exceptionalism, in the past, was this tapestry ---- we can be home to the best and brightest of the world, who come together to make America great. Of course, our recent nuevo-bigotry is failing to understand our greatness and turning on it...

Granted, I am Welsh, Irish, English and German .... with my English side (paternal grandmother) ... blue blooded American with a direct line to the Mayflower, but I am more intrigued with my Welsh side (my name sake)..... my wife is Norwegian and German. She is a fourth generation American, but is very intrigued with her Norwegian ancestry..... on a European trip of several years ago, we each went to our cities of origin .... We are each proud of our roots, yet fully American. Fortunately for us, our county has not (yet) turned on us suggesting we are no longer welcome. I suspect if that were true, we would suddenly cling to our roots.

upsideguy said:

Do you not understand that a big part of the American experience, the melting pot, is the right to be woven into the American tapestry without having to let go of your roots?

This is why we have the Italian American clubs, the Polish American clubs, Greek-American clubs .... etc. This is why we have Chinatowns' and Japan towns and Little Italy's, robust St. Paddy Day parades, Cinco De Mayo celebrations. This also why American cities have incredible ethnic food; where Americans can enjoy the cuisine of the world, proudly presented by Americans from that part of the world.

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Notice that they are ???-American clubs. They are, or should be, clubs in which people from a heritage join together to enjoy that heritage; food, dress music, etc.

upsideguy said:

Of course, our recent nuevo-bigotry is failing to understand our greatness and turning on it...

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You confuse a respect for the law for "nuevo-bigotry." While people from other countries have been welcome since the days of "No Irish Allowed" and since the creation of laws regarding immigration, many of us prefer that the country have the right to determine who those immigrants should be. We believe that our new neighbors should be law-abiding, desirous of building a future, capable of sustaining oneself, etc.

upsideguy said:

Granted, I am Welsh, Irish, English and German .... with my English side (paternal grandmother) ... blue blooded American with a direct line to the Mayflower,

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I share all that, plus a dab of French and Scottish. My 12th Great-Grandfather, Edward Winslow, arrived on the Mayflower and other ancestors four years later on the Mary and John. So, like you, I have many ancestors who came here before there were immigration laws and restrictions. But my wife came here just 50 years ago, and we had to go through the background check, the physical exam, the assurance that she wouldn't become dependent on the state an so on.

People like you choose to believe that, since most of us want to know who our new neighbors are, that we're being bigots. But I believe that you would be opposed to my bringing a wife to this country who was a known criminal, a carrier of communicable disease and who would be dependent on the taxpayers for food, medical care, clothing, housing and the rest.

It's really as simple as that. And, in case you're wondering, I grew up with a sizeable Mexican community in our small town (I even taught one Mexican classmate how to read Spanish). So, long-winded as you may be, I don't buy that this country is any more opposed to immigrants based on ethnicity than they are to a good dinner. We are, however, opposed to ignoring the law and allowing millions of unknown people from over 100 countries moving unchecked into cities all across the country.