There is an undercurrent that pervasively runs through conservative American political culture that is often opposed by what truths we hold to be self-evident: that all men and women are created equal.
This is the belief that we are being overwhelmed by undocumented immigrants and that, as a result, the nation our children will inherit will be much different than the nation we live in now.
For the sake of this column, let us assume that this impending “invasion” is a given, our society will change somehow, and everyone knows this. How is having one unified culture in any way a positive thing? Why should we refuse to be accommodating and change our ways?
If we truly believe in an egalitarian society, we should abandon a unicultural view of what our country should be, more thoroughly embrace the concept that all are welcome and contribute positively to our heterogeneous society.
Ponder these questions as well: Why do conservative pundits demand that immigrants immediately assimilate, rather than ease their way into American life, much like immigrants have done in the past?
Five generations ago, my family tree tells me that Michael Fleming immigrated to the United States from Ireland during the potato famine, and I doubt he showed up at the battered shoreline speaking proper English and singing in the front row at the First Baptist Church.
We are, by our very nature, a nation of different peoples. Why is it that, on this campus, there is an organization — Youth for Western Civilization — that believes that our powerful nation is somehow in danger of losing its heritage to undocumented immigrants and those who favor a multicultural society?
Youth for Western Civilization has forgotten that we as a nation have consistently relied upon immigrants, whether they be legal or illegal, from both a demographic and an economic standpoint.
We can’t do without them. But why should they worry? The Irish immigrants that came in the 1840s eventually assimilated into American society, as did the Italians and Eastern Europeans in the 1880s. Indeed, and despite being made subjects to prejudice from nativists at the time, we see them as equals today.
What would our nation look like today if we were more homogenous? Let us turn our attention across the pond, so to speak. Indeed, no small number of ethnic Europeans see their countries as being culturally homogeneous as well and many racially prejudiced political parties (such as Lega Nord in Italy and Front National in France) do absurdly well in the polls.
These people are terrified of the considerable number of Muslim immigrants coming into Europe, even though they should not be.
Change is uncomfortable for all, but it does not have to be a bad thing unless we decide to make it so. Those who decide that it’s a bad thing should look back to their own roots.
Unless you are a Native American, such as the Cherokee or Iroquois, your not-so-distant kin probably came here from across the ocean.
We can benefit greatly from having a truly multicultural society — a true melting pot, rather than the bland garden salad that many wish our country to be.
Jaron is a junior history major from Thomasville. Contact Jaron at piousheretic@gmail.com
