Who Is American on this 4th of July?
This July 4th, as I sit on my back porch I hear fireworks from seemingly from every corner of the neighborhood. In the most diverse neighborhood in Boston, everyone participates. Everyone, no matter what their background or how recently they came to this nation, is excited about the prospect of celebrating the birth of the nation, the greatest experiment in human history that determined that men and women could indeed govern themselves.
July 4th, 1776 is the great historical demarcation that separated the world from tyranny of kings and emperors to a world of governments constituted of the people, by the people and for the people. While slow to grow traction, this freedom and liberal form of government has won the day as how governments ought to be comprised.
But on this July 4th, I ask what it means its to be an American? Who lays claim to this grand experiment that has taken root in every corner of the globe?
From its inception, this country was founded on the notion that people ought to emigrate from their native lands if they have the initiative to make a better life for themselves. With the exception of our Native American friends who have their own claims to this land and Africans forcibly brought here, every one of us is an immigrant. Our forefathers came here for the promise that hard work would lead themselves and their children to be better off. Such a promise is inherent in freedom and self-government.
Why have we failed to be more welcoming of those who follow the same well-tred path of our forefathers? While we have always struggled to welcome the latest wave of immigrants, we have always been able to incorporate the new population into our American culture and life. Certainly the country changes (thus St. Patrick's Day, Cinco De Mayo, Veal Parmesan, Kielbasas and all of the other imported pieces of our food and culture that make this place so wonderful to live in.)
What is it to be an American? The core values of freedom, liberty and self-governance are unwavering, but there is a growing circle as to who is included. On my way home from work yesterday, I walked past our local sport fields. Young Latinos played baseball. African Americans and Latinos played basketball. East African Muslims women played soccer (complete covered mind you!). My girlfriend plays in a Panamanian drum band on the same fields. The Afro-Caribbeans next door have their barbecue, the historical Irish bar on the corner is a center piece of Boston politics. My IPC buddy and President, is a Brit who emigrated here a decade ago. This is the new America my friends.
While most of the world has adopted our liberal political values, many individuals have gone further. They have searched out a better life here on this land, in this country. Many of those folks used the fourth to become citizens. Their pledge to the Constitution proves that our great experiment continues to serve as a great beacon for hope and liberty throughout the world.
I love this country, our traditions, our political values, and the ever-changing nature of our culture and population. On this July 4th, we celebrate that we are all Americans living under law.
- Stephen Rockwell's blog
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Well Said
Well written and well said, Stephen.
One of the reasons that we aren't so welcoming is the perceived threat of natives towards the immigrant. 9/11 also influenced the mindset, as the average American is geographically ignorant , as evidenced by such absurdities as attacks on Sikhs after 9/11.
Workers that do manual labor for a living are in direct competion with undocumented workers. What they usually fail to see is that if they were documented they would be due at lease minimum wage, etc and wouldn't be as threatening. I wish we could get working people as excited about the contruction and agri-business people breaking the law as they are about undocumented workers "breaking the law" and coming across the border for employment. If anyone gets fined in the legalization process, it should be the wealthy corporations that have exploited the immigrants.
I suspect from historical accounts there has always been prejudice against immigrants. I know from first hand experience that a generation ago it was bad too. My adopted father was a Lithuanian immigrant, with a Spanish sounding surname, and he lived in South America before coming here , so he definetly caught some prejudice.He was a shade darker than most Lithuanians and vaguely looked more Southern European than Northern European.(When he got drunk he claimed his grandmother was a Jewish convert but only when he got drunk) I was told several times while growing up to "go back to the country" I came from. People often assumed I was of Hispanic descent and would say nasty things. Back in the seventies there was a popular show called "Chico and the Man". Chico was a Latino who worked for an Anglo at a gas or service station of some sort. Chco would often say to "the Man", the Anglo who owned the station "Thats not my job, man". I was a Detroit Fire Fighter in the seventies and in that "proby" (probationary) time was harrased with accusations of "Thats not my job" by other firefighters as they tried to get under my skin, becasue they assumed I was a Latino.I eventually told them that I was basically of Scottish descent with some Cherokee blood, and that "Ramelis" was a Lithuanian name that sounded Spanish, and it stopped. I got a taste of what it might be like though. Life got easier after that revelation so I can sympathize with those that claim on the job bigotry. Point being though, that was the seventies.
We fear the other. That is where spirituality comes in. We must recognize "the other" as our neighbor and love them as we would love ourselves.
How Beautifully Put
Such a reflection defines the very essence of true patriotism.