On Oct 4, 4:01 pm, Chris Jenkins <[email protected]> wrote: > When I hear that phrase, I'm reminded of McCarthy, determining from > congressional committee whether or not someone was properly American. > Apparently, being an artist, musician, philosopher, or wanting to implement > social platforms to help the less fortunate were all considered such. > > Allan said that he had become un-American due to losing his ability to > drive. I'd like to hear you flesh that out some more, Allan, and then I'd > like to get some feedback from everyone what they think it means to be > American, or UN as the case may be.
Funnily enough, it's a topic I cover in my book when I address America in particular. One of the points I raised is that ther are two obvious ways of being American: 1) if you were born there 2) if you become a naturalised citizen as per the constitutional process There are many immigrants, though, who leave their homeland for various reasons and come to America in the hopes of fulfilling the 'American Dream' like countless immigrants before them: the ability to eke out a better life for themselves and, perhaps, their families. These immigrants are, arguably, more 'American' in their hearts than many naturally born citizens, many of whom have become embittered by life in America not living up to its promise. America is founded on allowing immigration and building itself up by welcoming those who come from the rest of the planet. If America ever stops or limits immigration, it becomes un-American itself. The differences between people are humanity's greatest strength; therefore, a melting pot ought to be a strong nation. Yet there are still a minority of bigots who would have you believe that, unless you are White Anglo-Saxon Protestants, you are not American;thus, even the Native Americans are, by that rule, un-American. The falsity of their premiss is obvious. If anyone starts making claims about who is American and who is not other than by the two scenarios I stated above, they are bigots and are a danger to America and TRUE American values and ought to be weeded out. The Bush family and the Cheney family are cases in point. Their membership in the remains of 'The Knights of the Golden Circle' is evidence that they are, in fact, bigots in disguise. One of the offshoots of 'The Knights of the Golden Circle' was the Kuklos Clan, which, by corruption became the Ku Klux Klan. 'Kuklos' is Greek for 'circle' and that is why the offshoot called itself the 'Kuklos Clan'. Jesse James and William Quantrill were old members of this 'Knights of the Golden Circle' group. Their original concept was to conquer the West Indies and Central America and annex the entire lot as new Slave States. John Wilkes Booth was also a member, thus his famous line of 'Sic Semper Tyrannis' after assassinating Lincoln, implying that Lincoln was a tyrant because he stood against the increase of slave states. Enough rant! I think I've made my point. Bigots who oppose people because of petty differences like the relative amount of melanin in a person's skin are un-American. If you oppose immigration simply because you dont want 'foreigners' in America, you've lost the American plot. Remember the Statue of Liberty and Emma Lazarus' words: Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free. THAT is what America stands for.
