When do we just become AMERICANS????

[Anathema]

This topic has come to the forefront of my mind once again with the ridiculous ruling by the Patent and Trademark office yesterday related tot he Waskington Redskins, but it's much broader than just a "Native American" issue so far as I'm concerned....

At what point in time do we stop being Hyphenated Americans (african-american, native-american, irish-american, german-american, mexican-american, etc....) and start just being AMERICANS???

There are parts of my family that came to this continent as little as 15 years after the Mayflower landed. The most recent immigrants in my family came here from Germany/Poland over a century ago. We are AMERICANS.

The fact that I can trace my ancestory back to more than a half dozen European nations, and potentially even to native bloodlines in this country means nothing. I would never refer to myself as Irish-American, German-American. or anything like that. Yet I know a very large number of individuals who do just that and identify even more with a former cultural and national identity than they do with the country they were born and raised in. Hell, I work with two guys who despite never having stepped foot outside this country, nevermind in Brazil where their parents grew up, consider THAT their "home nation" when it comes to rooting interest in this year's World Cup. WTF???? Several members of the family I'm marrying into in two weeks time consider (and identify) themselves as Puerto Ricans instead of AMEARICANS, even though they weren't even born when Puerto Rico was it's own country.

I hear many people talk about all the divisions in our society today, and how it benefits this group and detracts from some other. Isn't it about time we just all became AMERICANS and moved forward TOGETHER rather than looking back at where our families came from and allowing that to push us apart? What is it going to take, another World War to bring AMERICANS back together? Is that even possible at this point in time?

[/rant]

 

[Leweman]

It's bad for politicians when people can't be partitioned into different factions or groups and made to think they have a reason to hate one another when it is convenient. So never.

 

[Dont Taz Me Bro]

The political left will never let us be just Americans.

 

[Anathema]

It's bad for politicians when people can't be partitioned into different factions or groups and made to think they have a reason to hate one another when it is convenient. So never.

The political left will never let us be just Americans.

When did we allow politicians to be the ones who make our societal decidions for us rather than making them ourselves and TELLING the politicians how it's going to be?

 

[norwegen]

We were virtually hyphen-free in the 1980s. The hyphen regained most of its current traction during the current administration.

 

[Moonglow]

Business started the whole darn affair and continue it with glee...

 

[Luddly Neddite]

The irony is that you're talking about the first Americans, the original Americans whose identity, rights, dignity, property has been systematically destroyed by our descendants.


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[Luddly Neddite]

We were virtually hyphen-free in the 1980s. The hyphen regained most of its current traction during the current administration.

Not even close.

Our social divisions go back as far as human history.

Asssssinine to try to hang it on Obama.


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[Anathema]

We were virtually hyphen-free in the 1980s. The hyphen regained most of its current traction during the current administration.

It may have gone out of the political vocabulary at that time but it really didn't seem to have left the society. I grew up in the 1980's and plenty of people I knew described themselves as African-American or Italian-American or Lebanese-American.

Business started the whole darn affair and continue it with glee...

How do you figure that?

 

[Moonglow]

We were virtually hyphen-free in the 1980s. The hyphen regained most of its current traction during the current administration.

It may have gone out of the political vocabulary at that time but it really didn't seem to have left the society. I grew up in the 1980's and plenty of people I knew described themselves as African-American or Italian-American or Lebanese-American.

Business started the whole darn affair and continue it with glee...

How do you figure that?

By devaluing lifespans of slaves...also to include wage slaves....which reminds me, for you to show your liberty and work for free, break the bondage of wages...

 

[Anathema]

The irony is that you're talking about the first Americans, the original Americans whose identity, rights, dignity, property has been systematically destroyed by our descendants.

The irony is that we're allowing people who failed to put up a sufficient fight to save their own property to demand to be recognized a certain way and provided with certain extra protections. When you lose the war you don't get to make the conditions of your continued existance on that land. Hell, they should have all been sent to Canada or Mexico if they were unwilling to "Americanize".

 

[Katzndogz]

When do we all become Americans?

Never. It's over. It now depends on what tribe you belong to.

 

[Moonglow]

There was always divisions in the US, hell you so called regular Christians killed the founder of the extreme religion of the Mormons..and ran them out of town several times before they found a place in the dessert..

yeah, the conform or be damned is a useless motif of brow beating by nationalistic fascists..so called free country, ha!

 

[norwegen]

We were virtually hyphen-free in the 1980s. The hyphen regained most of its current traction during the current administration.

It may have gone out of the political vocabulary at that time but it really didn't seem to have left the society. I grew up in the 1980's and plenty of people I knew described themselves as African-American or Italian-American or Lebanese-American.

The hyphen didn't assume the divisive connotation in the '80s and earlier that it does now. In one word, people bragged both of their heritage and of their being American.

Among blacks especially, the hyphen was not nearly as pervasive. Blacks were blacks (remember Black Power or Black is Beautiful?).

Now the hyphen categorizes us.

 

[Moonglow]

We were virtually hyphen-free in the 1980s. The hyphen regained most of its current traction during the current administration.

It may have gone out of the political vocabulary at that time but it really didn't seem to have left the society. I grew up in the 1980's and plenty of people I knew described themselves as African-American or Italian-American or Lebanese-American.

The hyphen didn't assume the divisive connotation in the '80s and earlier that it does now. In one word, people bragged both of their heritage and of their being American.

Among blacks especially, the hyphen was not nearly as pervasive. Blacks were blacks (remember Black Power or Black is Beautiful?).

Now the hyphen categorizes us.

They don't have one long enough for myself....

 

[rightwinger]

You can be many things and still be an American

You can be black, Hispanic, rich, poor, religious, non-religious, a farmer, a city dweller, old, young

You are still an American but your outlooks and desires may be influenced by which groups you belong to

 

[rightwinger]

Native Americans are proud of their culture which our country attempted to take away from them

They are very protective of attempts to mock or degrade their culture by outsiders. Doesn't make them any less American

 

[shart_attack]

When Washington first uses the Internet kill switch is my guess.

 

[Peach]

Native Americans are proud of their culture which our country attempted to take away from them

They are very protective of attempts to mock or degrade their culture by outsiders. Doesn't make them any less American

Darn Yanks......

 

[Dont Taz Me Bro]

It's bad for politicians when people can't be partitioned into different factions or groups and made to think they have a reason to hate one another when it is convenient. So never.

The political left will never let us be just Americans.

When did we allow politicians to be the ones who make our societal decidions for us rather than making them ourselves and TELLING the politicians how it's going to be?

The day we decided it was their job to give us other people's money.