Well this is my first blog attempt so here I go.
Recently there has been much debate on immigration, both legal and illegal, and I think there is some great confusion on the issue for those who are marching. The issue is trying to be made into something it isn't. The true issue comes down to a couple of key points.
1. Those that are coming over illegally do have some basic human rights but do not have any rights as citizens of the U.S. simply because they are not citizens. I work in the health care industry and my team is responsible for those who do not have insurance. Non-Citizens can qualify for some state funded 'insurance' known as Emergency Medicaid. ER Caid does not allow them to have clinic or scheduled visits; however it will pay for them to give birth. From a hospital perspective this is great otherwise we would have to eat each and every illegal immigrant's delivery bill as they are seldom, if ever, paid for. As a taxpayer, however, this infuriates me. To think that I am helping to pay for somebody who is not even a citizen and is likely not paying any taxes themselves.
2. Another key point of frustration is the language barrier. Simply put this is America and we speak English. If you come here it is to be American ergo you should speak English regardless of the difficulty associated with it. I have spent time in Brazil where I learned to speak Portuguese, there wasn't anybody offering an interpreter for me if I couldn't speak it well enough. I find that audacity too much when they get upset because I do not speak Spanish.
3. The reluctance to integrate is astonishing. To be fair there are many who have but a large percentage of Hispanic immigrants show an utter lack of desire for assimilation. If you come to America you should be American in all aspects. You share our dream and our goals; you speak our language and adhere to our customs. You can keep your cultural flair but you are not Mexican or Peruvian or anything else you are simply American. Teddy Roosevelt had a great quote on this, http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/bl_roosevelt_on_immigrants.htm found here. These are my feelings and I don't think it is too much to ask. My Grandfather and his family immigrated from Germany to America. He was told by his parents that "Walt, we don't speak German, we are Americans and we will speak English". They did just that, at the end of his life my Grandpa spoke less than 100 words in German, why? Because his parents taught him that to be an American is to be an American. So stop waving your Mexican flag at these rallies because remember it's American where you want to stay otherwise go back.
4. I really believe that Mexico has a great potential to become a world power but has to over come the mass corruption in government. It is not an oppressive dictatorship, but it is corrupt. I realize that many live in abject poverty and want a better life for themselves but fleeing isn't always the best solution. Ideally they would have 10 million Mexican's more than they have now that are trying to fight for more rights and to end corruption. Imagine if instead of wasting energy on border crossings the bulk of the populous stood up and united demanded more rights. The government would change and there would not be the overwhelming desire to come to America. Notice that we don't have a problem with Canada.
Finally, let it be known that I believe in immigration, it is a corner stone of our country but this recent wave is radically different than any other wave of immigration and the lack of assimilation is alarming. I am not racist, I have nothing against people of any race, creed or nationality and welcome all but under the legal terms prescribed.
A final note for future discussion is the hyphen names should go too. For example 'African-American' 'Mexican-American'
Recently there has been much debate on immigration, both legal and illegal, and I think there is some great confusion on the issue for those who are marching. The issue is trying to be made into something it isn't. The true issue comes down to a couple of key points.
1. Those that are coming over illegally do have some basic human rights but do not have any rights as citizens of the U.S. simply because they are not citizens. I work in the health care industry and my team is responsible for those who do not have insurance. Non-Citizens can qualify for some state funded 'insurance' known as Emergency Medicaid. ER Caid does not allow them to have clinic or scheduled visits; however it will pay for them to give birth. From a hospital perspective this is great otherwise we would have to eat each and every illegal immigrant's delivery bill as they are seldom, if ever, paid for. As a taxpayer, however, this infuriates me. To think that I am helping to pay for somebody who is not even a citizen and is likely not paying any taxes themselves.
2. Another key point of frustration is the language barrier. Simply put this is America and we speak English. If you come here it is to be American ergo you should speak English regardless of the difficulty associated with it. I have spent time in Brazil where I learned to speak Portuguese, there wasn't anybody offering an interpreter for me if I couldn't speak it well enough. I find that audacity too much when they get upset because I do not speak Spanish.
3. The reluctance to integrate is astonishing. To be fair there are many who have but a large percentage of Hispanic immigrants show an utter lack of desire for assimilation. If you come to America you should be American in all aspects. You share our dream and our goals; you speak our language and adhere to our customs. You can keep your cultural flair but you are not Mexican or Peruvian or anything else you are simply American. Teddy Roosevelt had a great quote on this, http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/bl_roosevelt_on_immigrants.htm found here. These are my feelings and I don't think it is too much to ask. My Grandfather and his family immigrated from Germany to America. He was told by his parents that "Walt, we don't speak German, we are Americans and we will speak English". They did just that, at the end of his life my Grandpa spoke less than 100 words in German, why? Because his parents taught him that to be an American is to be an American. So stop waving your Mexican flag at these rallies because remember it's American where you want to stay otherwise go back.
4. I really believe that Mexico has a great potential to become a world power but has to over come the mass corruption in government. It is not an oppressive dictatorship, but it is corrupt. I realize that many live in abject poverty and want a better life for themselves but fleeing isn't always the best solution. Ideally they would have 10 million Mexican's more than they have now that are trying to fight for more rights and to end corruption. Imagine if instead of wasting energy on border crossings the bulk of the populous stood up and united demanded more rights. The government would change and there would not be the overwhelming desire to come to America. Notice that we don't have a problem with Canada.
Finally, let it be known that I believe in immigration, it is a corner stone of our country but this recent wave is radically different than any other wave of immigration and the lack of assimilation is alarming. I am not racist, I have nothing against people of any race, creed or nationality and welcome all but under the legal terms prescribed.
A final note for future discussion is the hyphen names should go too. For example 'African-American' 'Mexican-American'
posted by Mormegil at 10:58
3 Comments:
I am in total agreement.
For all your Yanks' dislike of them, your views are incredibly like those of the French.
"A final note for future discussion is the hyphen names should go too."
Quite right. Thank goodness that over the past decade a few of the more logical members of the "African-American" community have started moving away from that term, and instead opting to be called "black Americans", which is much more accurate and less confusing.
For instance, a white exchange student from South Africa at a local high school was told he could not be a candidate for the African-American Achievement award, because he was not "African-American". How stupid is that. He was born and raised in Africa and yet is not African-American. Instead, those who were qualified as A-A were individuals who had never been to Africa and will never go to Africa.
Why the need to cling to ancestral homes? It's not YOUR home. If my dad walked in and told me, "Actually, your grandpa, his parents, and brothers and sisters weren't really German Jews who fled from the Nazis. They were Chinese, and came here to start a resturaunt.", I wouldn't care. It would make no difference in my life. I am who I am.
There's no need to be French-American or Asian-American or anything else. If you are so desperate to be a part of some other place that you feel the need to include it in your title, then go there. Stay here if you want to be plain old "American".
-tp
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