IMMIGRATION AND ASSIMILATION
The hot debate lately has been over immigration or more specifically illegal immigration. People that cross our border into the United States without the proper paperwork are illegal. They are breaking the law. They are NOT undocumented workers. They are NOT day laborers. They are illegal aliens.
If you stand up and say this, you are labeled as a racist. Race has absolutely nothing to do with the opposition to people illegally entering our country. I am all for immigration. I understand why people around the world would want to come and live in the United States. This continues to be the land of opportunity. We have more freedoms and opportunities than any other nation on Earth. We are a nation of laws as well. We welcome people from any race, any nation, any heritage, any religion as long as you come here legally.
We all saw the protests last week. We saw the Mexican flags waving. We saw the signs. The protesters did more damage to their cause than they did good. They demonstration organizers are already feeling the backlash. If there are more protests, don't be surprised to see American flags. But I say it would be too little too late. We already saw the true colors the first time and they were not red, white and blue. They were red, white and green....the colors of the Mexican flag.
My grandmother passed away last year. She was an immigrant from the Ukraine. She came here legally in search of a better life and found it. What I never knew about her until her funeral was that she helped many other people come over here legally. There were people at her funeral that I had never seen in my life. I didn't know who they were until they got up and spoke. One woman in particular stands out as she spoke. She was giving her tear-filled thanks to my grandmother for helping to bring her and her family to the Untied States. She evidently helped many people from her old country to come to this country. She helped them learn English. She helped them to assimilate to this country. She helped them become Americans. She was proud to be here and she was proud that she became an American. She never forgot her heritage. When she got mad, she slipped back to yelling in her native tongue. She still continued to cook dishes from her native land. But she also built a life upon her new country and it's heritage.
Too many people that immigrate to this country, especially illegally, make no effort to assimilate in to the American way of life. They want the advantages that America offers but do not want the responsibilities that go along with being in this country. America loves immigrants. This nation was built on immigration. All we ask is that you come here legally and you assimilate to our way of life. Do not expect us to assimilate to your way of life. After all, if your country's way of life was so great, you would never have come to America in the first place.
