Friday, September 17, 2010

Don't know if we'll ever get there...

...but this guy is right (last letter on the page -- ed.):

Due to politically correct and loudly lauded diversity concepts, today America is no longer a melting pot but rather a salad bowl of national origins. My pride today is in American ideals, not in my Scots-Irish ancestral roots. And diversity is not uniform as it champions Cinco de Mayo celebrations but not Bastille Day for our French-American citizens. Until pride in the American heritage supplants ethnic and cultural backgrounds of our ancestors, divisions unhealthy to America's unity and longevity will continue.
I will say, though, that I think a better example would have been the fact that Cinco de Mayo is big even in Texas, to the point that it overshadows San Jacinto Day, even; more to the point, it seems, some people who emigrated from Mexico still have a problem with the day being commemorated. I don't know just how widespread that phenomenon is among Mexican immigrants to America, but I'd certainly be interested to find out. And I suppose the contention that ethnic and cultural backgrounds of Americans' ancestors undermine the American heritage can't really be backed up with objective data, but if anyone has a better explanation for phenomena such as the one mentioned above I am certainly all ears.