Disclaimer, NOT MY Work

I am posting the beginning of a thread that was started at a military forum, which got so far out of hand that2 or3 individuals ended up in a physical altercation over it. I will not at this point, MAKE ANY Comments on the whole issue, but I will before it's over IF IT MAKE THAT LONG. I will tell you exactly how I feel and what I think. Let me repeat again, just in case someone does not understand what this is. I did not write this. It is a direct quote from a thread that was started on Cinco de Mayo day. Imagine that I did post 2 times when the thread was running at the military forum,. It stayed at the top of the forum for 27 days before the super moderator locked the thread. One more time, I did not write this, but I was amazed at how some of my peers felt when no one knew who was who



[size=2][b]Does everyone in the world have the right to be an American citizen? The answer is no. There are already laws on the books, to keep certain individuals from becoming US citizens. If you're unaware of these laws, I suggest you look them up. If you're too lazy to look them up, just click off, you are part of the problem. I won't waste my time or space to list them here. Here are some more "no's" for you. If you covet another country's flag and hold another country in higher regard or praise, then no. If you send a large portion of money, that was earned here, to a foreign country, then no. If you're unwilling to give your life or your families life for the defense of this country, then no. Now, lets talk about American traditions and customs. I will pause here to expand on this momentarily. Anthropologists say, that traditions and customs change, as the influx of new ethnic groups, come in to play. But there are established traditions and customs that have been here for more than a hundred years, before the recent, politically correct, wave came into power. If you are unwilling or unable to accept these traditions and customs, then the answer is no. If you have aspirations of returning to a foreign country, after fattening your money supply, then no. Now here, I will **** many of you off. I personally feel that anyone who immigrated to this country after 1950, {except those who fled their country from certain death or tyranny} are lazy, cowardly, thieving opportunists and freeloaders. Let's discuss this further. I can see the blood rushing to some of your faces now. Let's start with lazy and cowardly. You say how is it lazy or cowardly? Most of them work harder then most born Americans and have risk a great deal to come here. It's lazy and cowardly not to stay in your own country and fight for social and economical reform. Most of those who come to this country wish that their homeland was like America. It's only laziness and cowardliness that prevents this from happening. Lord knows that America has tried it's hardest to export it's ideas of freedom of rights for all mankind, to as many countries as possible. For this, internationally we have been persecuted, the lives of our fathers, mothers, sons, and daughters, have been left dead in foreign lands of late. So don't say we are not the most giving nation. Now to the opportunists and freeloaders. Is being an opportunist a bad thing? Yes when it hurts the group as a whole. I will talk later about self- preservation. There were no great unknowns about the US by the 1950's, in the sense that it was a land of great opportunities. We played this as a trump card in the Cold War. There was no great mystery of the unknown to come to America, as it was for those who immigrated to this country before then. Most certainly by the 1990's, as the birth of the information highway came online, even the most remote regions of t

 

Dude you are opening a big can.

 

no, he is quoting a big can that has already been opened.....This is an issue that definately needs work and attention...in my mind.

 

I agree and disagree with it. It's a little extreme, but it does prove a VERY good point.

 

As long as we can keep this thread going in a CIVIL matter it can make for a very stimulating exchange of ideas.

So here goes mine:

Born a Puertorrican, I was blessed with a unique perspective on the whole Immigrant issue. You see, in PR we are all born to US citizenship, but the island's main (spoken) language is spanish. We are taught english from 1st grade through college, but most people aren't comfortable speaking it.

I was one of the fortunate ones that my parents insisted I learn english properly, and it helped me a lot when I decided to join the military.

Once I came to the states, I realized there are some important differences between "Puertorrican Culture" and "American Culture". For example:

Puertorrican's definition of family includes cousins, in-laws, and your in-laws "extended family" as well without differentiating between them, and even include their closest friends on their definition for "family".
Americans differentiate between "immediate family" (parents, siblings, and offspring) and "extended family", evryone else thet's blood related.

seeing those differences first hand made me ask myself the question "What exactly is what makes "an american", an American ?

I believed we (as americans, I consider myself an American first, of Puerrtorrican descent, second) have not only stopped asking ourselves the question, but have also forgotten the common bonds that made Americans what they are.
We have becommed so self absorbed in our own little micreocosm of "our heritage" that we have forgotten thet we need to have a common bond with ALL AMERICANS to make this a true nation, and not just a gigantic shopping mall where all the other nations of the world congregate to shop.

There is a lot to be said for loyalty to our country, and right now it leaves a lot to be desired.

EDIT,
I'll elaborate more on my POV when I have a little more time but for now...
I'll add the following question:

... in your opinion, what makes an american, an AMERICAN, and not just someone who happens to have US citizenship? (or not even that)

 

i almost started to actually read what u were gonna say....but then i scrolled down a bit, then some more, then some more again...then a lil more and found out that it was just another one of your long winded posts so i gave up.

 

I agree with Blue on this one.Sure alot of immigration issues here latly we'll see how this one plays out. hopefully not into a bigpissin match, so guys....lets play nice [&:]

 

it is pretty bold but i am interested to see how we all see it in our own eyes.

 

Just like everything else, it's about the money. Immigrants, legal and illegal, come for it. The people already here want to keep from sharing it. Business lives and dies by it. Political power is completely made up of the stuff. There's no patriotism in money, there's no morality or tolerance, only accumulation. It's not about race, or gender, or ancestry, it's about who can bring how much to the table. Trying to 'reform immigration' is like trying to 'reform' a broken dam. There's just no chance.

 

Whatever

Although I understand a lot of what the post says and to some degree, I agree, it still strikes me as someone who thinks there pov is the only absolute right one. With no tolerance of others. They see life and the world painted in black and white. I have no time for people like that. It's like religion viewpoints its why things like the crusades happened. It's why the holocaust happened. If anything that we need to learn as a nation is tolerance and humility. Life is not black and white.