LETTER: Wise words on immigration and assimilation
Quoting Theodore Roosevelt in 1907: “In the first place, we should insist that the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on the exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated on the person’s becoming in every facet an American … There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he’s an American, but something else also, isn’t an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag … We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language … And we have room for but one sole loyalty, and that is a loyalty to the American people.”
We have many influential people in our country, including political leaders, educators and media, who have diluted President Roosevelt’s definition of what it is to be an American. If this group of people are allowed to domineer the majority, there will be little value in being an American.
