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My mother-in-law has me on her political mailing list. I frequently get emails espousing views which I find at the least disagreeable or at the worst offensive. They invariably end with the instructions to forward if you agree with the writer's views, but if you disagree, simply delete the message. In the interests of family harmony, I do the latter, often rolling my eyes.
Saturday I got another one -- an anti-immigrant, "why can't you people be just like us?" screed. Instead of following the writer's instructions to delete, I sent an answer to everyone on my MIL's mailing list.
Hell, if Cindy Sheehan can stand in a ditch in Texas in the August heat, the least I can do is write an email.
You know, for once I am not going to simply "delete". It seems to me that the sentiment expressed in the last line "Agree with me or shut up" is one of the things wrong with this country right now. It flies in the face of the most cherished of American freedoms: the right to dissent.
Let's take these items one by one:
All I have to say is, when will they do something about MY RIGHTS? I celebrate Christmas, but because it isn't celebrated by everyone, we can no longer say Merry Christmas.
What are you talking about? I live in the most liberal area of the country, and everyone I know says "Merry Christmas." Of course, we *also* say "Happy Hanukkah," and "Gung Hay Fat Choy" (Happy New Year in Chinese). We recognize that people have different faiths. Oh, and Christmas has been outlawed once before in this country: the Puritans, Protestants, outlawed it in colonial times.
IMMIGRANTS,
NOT AMERICANS,
MUST ADAPT.
I am tired of this nation worrying about whether we
are offending some individual or their culture. Since the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11,
we have experienced a surge
in patriotism by the majority
of Americans. However, the dust from the attacks had
barely settled when the "politically correct! " crowd began complaining about
the possibility that our patriotism was offending others.
Again, no one I know has ever argued against "patriotism." What we do argue against is mindless scapegoating. You define patriotism as "never speaking anything that might be seen as slightly critical of the government or the nation." I call patriotism "loving my country so fiercely that I would do anything rather than see her violate the principles upon which she was founded."
I am not against immigration, nor do I hold a grudge against anyone who is seeking a better life by coming to America. Our population is almost entirely made up of descendants of immigrants. However, there
are a few things that those
who have recently come to
our country, and apparently some born here, need to understand. This idea of America being a
multicultural community
has served only to dilute our sovereignty and our national identity. As Americans, we
have our own culture, our
own society, our own language and our own lifestyle.
We do? The culture is very different in Georgia than Massachusetts. Different in small towns than large cities. Different in Key West than in New York or Chicago. Different in Seattle than Jackson, Mississippi. We have no "national culture" -- and it's that which makes us interesting, and great.
This culture has been developed over centuries of struggles, trials, and victories by millions of men and women who have sought freedom.
No, what those men and women were fighting to preserve and defend was the Constitution of the United States of America. I know, my dad was a Marine. He told me, during the Iran-Contra scandal, that the Marines swore an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution, not the President.
We speak ENGLISH, not Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, or any other language.
Gee, that must be news to the Shoshone, Cherokee, Sioux, and other Native Americans. The United States has no official language.
Therefore, if you wish to become part
of our society, learn the language!
"In God We Trust" is our national motto. This is not some Christian, right wing, political slogan.
We adopted this motto in the mid-late 19th century. Prior to that, the motto which our country was founded upon was "E Pluribus Unum" -- "out of many, one." A motto which reflects that, in spite of our diversity, we are one nation.
We adopted this motto because Christian men and women,
on Christian principles, founded this nation, and this is clearly documented.
Not so, at least not completely, and not in the sense that this writer probably meant it. Thomas Jefferson was a Unitarian. Benjamin Franklin was an atheist. George Washington never declared himself a Christian. John Adams was a Christian, but it was in his administration that the Treaty of Peace and Friendship was ratified (by the Senate, meaning it was representative of the people), which stated in Article XI that "the government of the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the Christian Religion."
It is certainly appropriate to display it
on the walls of our schools. If God
offends you, then I suggest you
consider another part of the world as
your new home, because God is part
of our culture
Which God? Jesus? Yahweh? Allah? Shiva? I don't want someone to say that my God is lesser than others. And that freedom of religion which allows me to tell people my walk of faith as a Christian allows them to tell me about the their god. I don't want anyone to tell me what I have to bow down to, so I have to respect that for others, as well.
If Stars and Stripes offend you, or
you don't like Uncle Sam, then you
should seriously consider a move
to another part of this planet. We
are happy with our culture and have
no desire to change, and we really
don't care how you did things where
you came from. This is
OUR COUNTRY,
our land, and our lifestyle.
Again, what lifestyle? I can tell you that living in L.A. is much different than living in Tampa. And if we never allowed newcomers to bring part of their country with them, we might as well be English. The Irish, Jews, Italians, Norwegians and Chinese all brought part of their culture with them. They made us into the great nation we are. New immigrants bring strength with them too.
Our First Amendment gives every citizen the
right to express his opinion and we
will allow you every opportunity to do so!
But once you are done complaining, whining, and griping about our flag,
our pledge, our national motto, or our
way of life, I highly encourage you
take advantage of one other great American freedom,
THE RIGHT TO LEAVE.
Oh, right. If I don't agree with you I should leave. Clearly you don't understand what that "Freedom of Speech" means. Perhaps, with Rush Limbaugh, you think all liberals should be deported. Perhaps you would go farther and suggest, as some conservative commentators such as Ann Coulter have, that people who don't agree with the President should be subject to physical violence. These people spit on the Constitution and the Bill of Rights just as they claim to be wrapping themselves in the flag.
I love my country. I expect the best of my country. I require her to be honest and upright in her dealings, both with her own citizens and the rest of the world. I love her enough not to look the other way when she does something wrong. I love her enough to recognize that her arms open wide.
Saturday I got another one -- an anti-immigrant, "why can't you people be just like us?" screed. Instead of following the writer's instructions to delete, I sent an answer to everyone on my MIL's mailing list.
Hell, if Cindy Sheehan can stand in a ditch in Texas in the August heat, the least I can do is write an email.
You know, for once I am not going to simply "delete". It seems to me that the sentiment expressed in the last line "Agree with me or shut up" is one of the things wrong with this country right now. It flies in the face of the most cherished of American freedoms: the right to dissent.
Let's take these items one by one:
All I have to say is, when will they do something about MY RIGHTS? I celebrate Christmas, but because it isn't celebrated by everyone, we can no longer say Merry Christmas.
What are you talking about? I live in the most liberal area of the country, and everyone I know says "Merry Christmas." Of course, we *also* say "Happy Hanukkah," and "Gung Hay Fat Choy" (Happy New Year in Chinese). We recognize that people have different faiths. Oh, and Christmas has been outlawed once before in this country: the Puritans, Protestants, outlawed it in colonial times.
IMMIGRANTS,
NOT AMERICANS,
MUST ADAPT.
I am tired of this nation worrying about whether we
are offending some individual or their culture. Since the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11,
we have experienced a surge
in patriotism by the majority
of Americans. However, the dust from the attacks had
barely settled when the "politically correct! " crowd began complaining about
the possibility that our patriotism was offending others.
Again, no one I know has ever argued against "patriotism." What we do argue against is mindless scapegoating. You define patriotism as "never speaking anything that might be seen as slightly critical of the government or the nation." I call patriotism "loving my country so fiercely that I would do anything rather than see her violate the principles upon which she was founded."
I am not against immigration, nor do I hold a grudge against anyone who is seeking a better life by coming to America. Our population is almost entirely made up of descendants of immigrants. However, there
are a few things that those
who have recently come to
our country, and apparently some born here, need to understand. This idea of America being a
multicultural community
has served only to dilute our sovereignty and our national identity. As Americans, we
have our own culture, our
own society, our own language and our own lifestyle.
We do? The culture is very different in Georgia than Massachusetts. Different in small towns than large cities. Different in Key West than in New York or Chicago. Different in Seattle than Jackson, Mississippi. We have no "national culture" -- and it's that which makes us interesting, and great.
This culture has been developed over centuries of struggles, trials, and victories by millions of men and women who have sought freedom.
No, what those men and women were fighting to preserve and defend was the Constitution of the United States of America. I know, my dad was a Marine. He told me, during the Iran-Contra scandal, that the Marines swore an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution, not the President.
We speak ENGLISH, not Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, or any other language.
Gee, that must be news to the Shoshone, Cherokee, Sioux, and other Native Americans. The United States has no official language.
Therefore, if you wish to become part
of our society, learn the language!
"In God We Trust" is our national motto. This is not some Christian, right wing, political slogan.
We adopted this motto in the mid-late 19th century. Prior to that, the motto which our country was founded upon was "E Pluribus Unum" -- "out of many, one." A motto which reflects that, in spite of our diversity, we are one nation.
We adopted this motto because Christian men and women,
on Christian principles, founded this nation, and this is clearly documented.
Not so, at least not completely, and not in the sense that this writer probably meant it. Thomas Jefferson was a Unitarian. Benjamin Franklin was an atheist. George Washington never declared himself a Christian. John Adams was a Christian, but it was in his administration that the Treaty of Peace and Friendship was ratified (by the Senate, meaning it was representative of the people), which stated in Article XI that "the government of the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the Christian Religion."
It is certainly appropriate to display it
on the walls of our schools. If God
offends you, then I suggest you
consider another part of the world as
your new home, because God is part
of our culture
Which God? Jesus? Yahweh? Allah? Shiva? I don't want someone to say that my God is lesser than others. And that freedom of religion which allows me to tell people my walk of faith as a Christian allows them to tell me about the their god. I don't want anyone to tell me what I have to bow down to, so I have to respect that for others, as well.
If Stars and Stripes offend you, or
you don't like Uncle Sam, then you
should seriously consider a move
to another part of this planet. We
are happy with our culture and have
no desire to change, and we really
don't care how you did things where
you came from. This is
OUR COUNTRY,
our land, and our lifestyle.
Again, what lifestyle? I can tell you that living in L.A. is much different than living in Tampa. And if we never allowed newcomers to bring part of their country with them, we might as well be English. The Irish, Jews, Italians, Norwegians and Chinese all brought part of their culture with them. They made us into the great nation we are. New immigrants bring strength with them too.
Our First Amendment gives every citizen the
right to express his opinion and we
will allow you every opportunity to do so!
But once you are done complaining, whining, and griping about our flag,
our pledge, our national motto, or our
way of life, I highly encourage you
take advantage of one other great American freedom,
THE RIGHT TO LEAVE.
Oh, right. If I don't agree with you I should leave. Clearly you don't understand what that "Freedom of Speech" means. Perhaps, with Rush Limbaugh, you think all liberals should be deported. Perhaps you would go farther and suggest, as some conservative commentators such as Ann Coulter have, that people who don't agree with the President should be subject to physical violence. These people spit on the Constitution and the Bill of Rights just as they claim to be wrapping themselves in the flag.
I love my country. I expect the best of my country. I require her to be honest and upright in her dealings, both with her own citizens and the rest of the world. I love her enough not to look the other way when she does something wrong. I love her enough to recognize that her arms open wide.
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