Sunday, March 23, 2003
I pilfered this from my mom's e-mail this morning, and while I don't completely disagree with all points, I do disagree with some of them. And since this is all about my thoughts and opinions I figured I'd take this opportunity to share.
After hearing that the state of Florida changed its opinion and let a Muslim woman have her picture on her driver's license with her face covered this is an editorial written by an American citizen, published in a Tampa newspaper. He did quite a job; didn't he? Read on, please! Okay, since I live in Tampa and all I probably did read this article, I know that I read some several about the issue, but I don't remember this one in particular.
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. Okay, I guess I'm one the "politically correct crowd" because I do worry about offending others. Unlike some I realize that this country is made up of many different cultures, and I know that even though my culture believes certain things not all cultures believe the same thing, I am lucky to be a majority. I understand that what makes America different are the many different beliefs that, for the most part, live in relative harmony.
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. This culture has been developed over centuries of struggles, trials, and victories by millions of men and women who have sought freedom. I believe that the american culture and society is based on the differences that are found among our people, and the fact that all of our cultures have meshed to form an ecclectic family of sorts.
We speak ENGLISH, not Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, or any other language. Therefore, if you wish to become part of our society, learn the language! I do agree with this point. A firm grasp of the national language is important, and it should not be my job to decipher your meaning. I do however think that multilingualism is important and I don't discourage the learning of another language, or the speach of another language to others who also understand the language, as long as I can understand you when needed.
"In God We Trust" is our national motto. This is not some Christian, right wing, political slogan. We adopted this motto because Christian men and women, on Christian principles, founded this nation, and this is clearly documented. 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. Yes, our nations founders were christian and they did choose "In God We Trust" as our national motto, however, they also had the foresight to see into the future and to know that one day our great country would be filled with many different nationalities and seeing this they choose to seperate church and state. Do not forget this. Seperation of Church and State, is a great principle and makes our country unique, it is a principle that I strongly believe. And thus it is not appropriate for the motto to be displayed on the walls of our schools. God does not offend me, I am Christian, and I can see this, be a little more open-minded, have a little more respect. Stop pushing your religion on others. Seperation of Church and State is also part of our culture.
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. 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. I can't believe anyone even said this out loud. Here you are expressing your first ammendment right, and at the same time persecuting someone for expressing theirs. People do have a right to express their opinion, and they have a right to disagree with your opinion, but how dare you practically demand that they leave the country simply because their opinions are contrary to yours. Because you belong to the majority does not make you special.
AMEN
And Finally I was also upset by the fact that they did not have to take off their veils for identification. I think that there has to be a reasonable alternative that will still allow for reasonable identification. I understand the religous aspects of their culture and the reasons, but how about photo identification that can only be viewed by certain people, or what about using fingerprints? Sure it would be a little more time consuming but there is no reason that we should not be able to accomodate. Right now we need a little bit more tolerance than what most people are showing.
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