blitzkrieg 0 #1 January 13, 2005 IMMIGRANTS, NOT AMERICANS, MUST ADAPT. I am tired of this nation worrying about whether we are offending some individual or their culture. Since the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, we have experienced a surge in patriotism by the majority of Americans. However, the dust from the attacks had barely settled when the "politically correct! " crowd began complaining about the possibility that our patriotism was offending others. I am not against immigration, nor do I hold a grudge against anyone who is seeking a better life by coming to America. Our population is almost ! entirely made up of descendants of immigrants. However, there are a few things that those who have recently come to our country, and apparently some born here, need to understand. This idea of America being a multicultural community has served only to dilute our sovereignty and our national identity. As Americans, we have our own culture, our own society, our own language and our own lifestyle. This culture has been developed over centuries of struggles, trials, and victories by millions of men and women who have sought freedom. We speak ENGLISH, not Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, or any other language. Therefore, if you wish to become part of our society, learn the language! "In God We Trust" is our national motto. This is not some Christian, right wing, political slogan. We adopted this motto because Christian men and women, on Christian principles, founded this nation, and this is clearly documented. It is certainly appropriate to display it on the walls of our schools. If God offends you, then I suggest you consider another part of the world as your new home, because God is part of our culture. If Stars and Stripes offend you, or you don't like Uncle Sam, then you should seriously consider a move to another part of this planet. We are happy with our culture and have no desire to change, and we really don't care how you did things where you came from. This is OUR COUNTRY, our land, and our lifestyle. Our First Amendment gives every citizen the right to express his opinion and we will allow you every opportunity to do so! But once you are done complaining, whining, and griping about our flag, our pledge, our national motto, or our way of life, I highly encourage you take advantage of one other great American freedom, THE RIGHT TO LEAVE. It is Time for America to Speak up. ~apparently from a Tampa newspaper editorial... either way i like what this says. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
crozby 0 #2 January 13, 2005 The watering down of cultural identities is one of the natural side-effects of globalisation isn't it? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mr2mk1g 10 #3 January 13, 2005 certain ex-presidents may disagree with you on one or two points... but the overall idea of immigrants adopting the new host nations values is perfectly laudable - they want to live there - they should speak the lingo and so forth. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
storm1977 0 #4 January 13, 2005 agreed.... how arrogant would it be if I decided to move to France, and lived there for 20 yrs and refused to learn the language? It is happening with spanish speakers alll over this country... Move here fine.... but you need to adapt and learn the language. I would make it manditory for a person to have a working knowledge of english before they could obtain their citizenship... If I were in charge that is. ----------------------------------------------------- Sometimes it is more important to protect LIFE than Liberty Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shropshire 0 #5 January 13, 2005 Quotethey want to live there - they should speak the lingo and so forth Yeah quite right Everyone in Wyoming (for example) should be forced to speak Arapaho - gosh - where do they get off thinking that they can speak English - Tut! Tut! (.)Y(.) Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
masterrig 1 #6 January 13, 2005 I second that! I haven't heard where immigrants have to 'give-up' their language or their culture. If, they want to live here... learn our language. They can still maintain their language(s) and customs. They want all our rights and privilages, Social Security and all the rest. This is our country and if they want to go through 'proper channels' to immigrate here, they need to adapt to our language and culture... it's not the other way around. Being 'friendly' with immigrants is great but, I don't feel as though we need to start learning new languages, wearing sombreros, kilts or sarongs, just to be 'politically correct'. Personally, I'm getting a little tired of 'politically correct! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
crozby 0 #7 January 13, 2005 I agree too. It really pisses me off that my local taxes get spent on employing hoards of interpreters rather than making it a requirement that anyone coming to england either speaks english or pays the state for english lessons. other aspects of national identity get watered down by foreign influences all the time. For example, MacDonalds is everywhere in the UK now when it wasn't 25 years ago, so is Pepsi, so is Coke. We are bombarded with US TV (some good) and Australian soaps (all bad). All these things together make England less 'English' and its the price we pay for globalization, but some of it is good - if you'd ever had a Wimpy burger you'd know what I'm talking about. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shropshire 0 #8 January 13, 2005 Yeah, it's a pity all those damned foreigners came to our lovely island, with their highfaluting ways and weird new words.... Them Vikings and Romans they should have learnt to grunt with the rest of us... we didn't need their vocabulary..... a pox on them all that’s what I say.. (.)Y(.) Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
crozby 0 #9 January 13, 2005 I like your piccy - a very British piece of high quality automotive engineering! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shropshire 0 #10 January 13, 2005 Ta. (.)Y(.) Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
slug 1 #11 January 13, 2005 Sometimes it's very challenging for old folks to learn a second language for various reasons, some old folks can adapt some can't. However their children will are younf wnough to have their own friend go to local schools etc and will learn english and hopefully their parents/grandparents laguage. There are concentrations of differnt cultures in various parts of the US and english really isn't needed to function within that area. It does limit their options for jobs. living area etc, just like not being able to read does for american born adults. This "problem" as you percieve it is nothing new in NYC we had waves of europen immigrants that never learned to speak english but their children did If all the "spanish" speaking immigrants spoke english who would we get to take the low payiing manual labor jobs with no benifits that english speaking people aren't interested in Have a nice day R.i.P. R.I.P. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
happythoughts 0 #12 January 13, 2005 QuoteEveryone in Wyoming (for example) should be forced to speak Arapaho - gosh - where do they get off thinking that they can speak English If they don't like it, those darned Indians can go back to their own country. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
storm1977 0 #13 January 13, 2005 QuoteSometimes it's very challenging for old folks to learn a second language for various reasons, some old folks can adapt some can't. However their children will are younf wnough to have their own friend go to local schools etc and will learn english and hopefully their parents/grandparents laguage. There are concentrations of differnt cultures in various parts of the US and english really isn't needed to function within that area. It does limit their options for jobs. living area etc, just like not being able to read does for american born adults. This "problem" as you percieve it is nothing new in NYC we had waves of europen immigrants that never learned to speak english but their children did If all the "spanish" speaking immigrants spoke english who would we get to take the low payiing manual labor jobs with no benifits that english speaking people aren't interested in Have a nice day R.i.P. R.I.P. yes and no..... I watched a segment on CNN the other day about how a ban on illegal driver licenses should be enacted. (I happen to agree). THere was a translator on for a woman ~40yrs old. she has lived in the USA for 20 years, and doesn't speak a word of English.... but somehow, CA gave her a license to drivea car even though she cant read the street signs!!!! The woman was crying and through her translator said she would loose her job etc... if they took her driving privledges away yada yada yada.... And then I thought.... 20 yrs she has been here and she still needs a translator!!!! I am sorry, but that is unacceptable. What if I moved to Japan, Germany, france, brazil et al. And I chose not to learn the language????? Absolutely Unfathomable IMO!!! ----------------------------------------------------- Sometimes it is more important to protect LIFE than Liberty Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Darius11 12 #14 January 13, 2005 Here is my question. What’s is your American culture? What I have noticed is that cultures vary from family to family in the United States. So there is no one culture as you see in many other countries. So what are you exactly worried about losing?I'd rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I am not." - Kurt Cobain Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shropshire 0 #15 January 13, 2005 If we moved most places (especially in Europe) we'd be pretty much O.K - cuz English is so widly spoken, we could get by. (.)Y(.) Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Darius11 12 #16 January 13, 2005 QuoteSometimes it's very challenging for old folks to learn a second language for various reasons, some old folks can adapt some can't. However their children will are younf wnough to have their own friend go to local schools etc and will learn english and hopefully their parents/grandparents laguage. There are concentrations of differnt cultures in various parts of the US and english really isn't needed to function within that area. It does limit their options for jobs. living area etc, just like not being able to read does for american born adults. This "problem" as you percieve it is nothing new in NYC we had waves of europen immigrants that never learned to speak english but their children did Quote Agreed QuoteIf all the "spanish" speaking immigrants spoke english who would we get to take the low payiing manual labor jobs with no benifits that english speaking people aren't interested in I always point that out to the "There Giving away all the job to foreigners" Crowd. They always forget who is doing the hiring the greedy businessman.I'd rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I am not." - Kurt Cobain Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites dorbie 0 #17 January 13, 2005 QuoteIMMIGRANTS, NOT AMERICANS, MUST ADAPT. Please clarify, are you arguing that we should all go live in tepees and hunt buffalo with a bow and arrow? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites TomAiello 26 #18 January 13, 2005 QuoteThe watering down of cultural identities is one of the natural side-effects of globalisation isn't it? I think so. But it's not like the USA had a "cultural identity" to begin with. We're a hodgepodge of the cultural identities of the various groups of immigrants who've come here over the last couple hundred years. Personally, I like the result.-- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites christelsabine 1 #19 January 13, 2005 QuoteQuoteThe watering down of cultural identities is one of the natural side-effects of globalisation isn't it? I think so. But it's not like the USA had a "cultural identity" to begin with. We're a hodgepodge of the cultural identities of the various groups of immigrants who've come here over the last couple hundred years. Personally, I like the result. What's about the original inhabitants? The Red Skins? You do not count them? Where's their roll in America's history books? dudeist skydiver # 3105 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Frenchy68 0 #20 January 13, 2005 QuoteI am sorry, but that is unacceptable. What if I moved to Japan, Germany, france, brazil et al. And I chose not to learn the language????? you'd be surprised how many people around the world have lived in a country for quite some time yet still do not (and have no interest to do so) speak the local language. And some of them are actually wealthy groups of people. I can think of at least a dozen people who have lived in Shanghai for over 4 years and do not speak a word of Mandarin (nor do they mingle with locals). Although I do not understand their motivation, I see lots of them in pretty much every country I have been. "For once you have tasted Absinthe you will walk the earth with your eyes turned towards the gutter, for there you have been and there you will long to return." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites TomAiello 26 #21 January 13, 2005 QuoteWhat's about the original inhabitants? The Red Skins? You do not count them? Where's their roll in America's history books? The Native American cultures do have significant influence on modern US culture. This is especially true in some areas (like the Southwest), but less true in some other areas (where early segregation and deportation minimized cultural crossover). So, does that make "Talladega" part of NASCAR culture, or part of Native American culture? Both, I'd say.-- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Lindsey 0 #22 January 13, 2005 I don't care if people don't learn English, but I DO mind if I am expected to learn other languages to communicate with those who move here. linz-- A conservative is just a liberal who's been mugged. A liberal is just a conservative who's been to jail Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Frenchy68 0 #23 January 13, 2005 QuoteI don't care if people don't learn English, but I DO mind if I am expected to learn other languages to communicate with those who move here. I do agree with you. "For once you have tasted Absinthe you will walk the earth with your eyes turned towards the gutter, for there you have been and there you will long to return." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites funks 1 #24 January 13, 2005 QuoteI don't care if people don't learn English, but I DO mind if I am expected to learn other languages to communicate with those who move here. linz Guess what, with this train of thought you will be forced to communicate with those that dont speak english because they will eventually over run us. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites storm1977 0 #25 January 13, 2005 QuoteQuoteI don't care if people don't learn English, but I DO mind if I am expected to learn other languages to communicate with those who move here. linz Guess what, with this train of thought you will be forced to communicate with those that dont speak english because they will eventually over run us. hear hear!!! ----------------------------------------------------- Sometimes it is more important to protect LIFE than Liberty Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Prev 1 2 3 4 5 6 Next Page 1 of 6 Join the conversation You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account. Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible. Reply to this topic... × Pasted as rich text. Paste as plain text instead Only 75 emoji are allowed. × Your link has been automatically embedded. 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dorbie 0 #17 January 13, 2005 QuoteIMMIGRANTS, NOT AMERICANS, MUST ADAPT. Please clarify, are you arguing that we should all go live in tepees and hunt buffalo with a bow and arrow? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TomAiello 26 #18 January 13, 2005 QuoteThe watering down of cultural identities is one of the natural side-effects of globalisation isn't it? I think so. But it's not like the USA had a "cultural identity" to begin with. We're a hodgepodge of the cultural identities of the various groups of immigrants who've come here over the last couple hundred years. Personally, I like the result.-- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
christelsabine 1 #19 January 13, 2005 QuoteQuoteThe watering down of cultural identities is one of the natural side-effects of globalisation isn't it? I think so. But it's not like the USA had a "cultural identity" to begin with. We're a hodgepodge of the cultural identities of the various groups of immigrants who've come here over the last couple hundred years. Personally, I like the result. What's about the original inhabitants? The Red Skins? You do not count them? Where's their roll in America's history books? dudeist skydiver # 3105 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Frenchy68 0 #20 January 13, 2005 QuoteI am sorry, but that is unacceptable. What if I moved to Japan, Germany, france, brazil et al. And I chose not to learn the language????? you'd be surprised how many people around the world have lived in a country for quite some time yet still do not (and have no interest to do so) speak the local language. And some of them are actually wealthy groups of people. I can think of at least a dozen people who have lived in Shanghai for over 4 years and do not speak a word of Mandarin (nor do they mingle with locals). Although I do not understand their motivation, I see lots of them in pretty much every country I have been. "For once you have tasted Absinthe you will walk the earth with your eyes turned towards the gutter, for there you have been and there you will long to return." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TomAiello 26 #21 January 13, 2005 QuoteWhat's about the original inhabitants? The Red Skins? You do not count them? Where's their roll in America's history books? The Native American cultures do have significant influence on modern US culture. This is especially true in some areas (like the Southwest), but less true in some other areas (where early segregation and deportation minimized cultural crossover). So, does that make "Talladega" part of NASCAR culture, or part of Native American culture? Both, I'd say.-- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lindsey 0 #22 January 13, 2005 I don't care if people don't learn English, but I DO mind if I am expected to learn other languages to communicate with those who move here. linz-- A conservative is just a liberal who's been mugged. A liberal is just a conservative who's been to jail Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Frenchy68 0 #23 January 13, 2005 QuoteI don't care if people don't learn English, but I DO mind if I am expected to learn other languages to communicate with those who move here. I do agree with you. "For once you have tasted Absinthe you will walk the earth with your eyes turned towards the gutter, for there you have been and there you will long to return." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
funks 1 #24 January 13, 2005 QuoteI don't care if people don't learn English, but I DO mind if I am expected to learn other languages to communicate with those who move here. linz Guess what, with this train of thought you will be forced to communicate with those that dont speak english because they will eventually over run us. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
storm1977 0 #25 January 13, 2005 QuoteQuoteI don't care if people don't learn English, but I DO mind if I am expected to learn other languages to communicate with those who move here. linz Guess what, with this train of thought you will be forced to communicate with those that dont speak english because they will eventually over run us. hear hear!!! ----------------------------------------------------- Sometimes it is more important to protect LIFE than Liberty Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
