The United States of America. Think of what that phrase means to you. Think of what it means to the world. Say it again if you need to. It's the greatest nation in the history of the world. We consider ourselves the "melting pot" of the earth. "Melting pot" was used to describe the social assimilation of many different ethnic groups into the American culture in the early 1900's. Immigrants wanted to come to America to enjoy the freedoms and opportunities our citizens are born into. They were optimistic about their future here and were proud to be called Americans. They left the "old world" behind and were eager to contribute to their new country, a vast and prosperous land known as the United States of America.

In the nineteenth century, immigrants traveled here from abroad to learn our history and our language, and not only to accept our way of life, but to excel at it. Today, it's hard to find an immigrant that wants to do all of that. One of our great presidents, Teddy Roosevelt, began to see a new development in the immigrant communities in the early twentieth century. He saw waves of immigrants take advantage of our opportunities, but not try to assimilate into our culture. He had very strong opinions about people who called themselves "Irish-Americans" or "German-Americans." He felt that those who wanted to be hyphenated Americans and those who showed allegiance to their native country did not belong here. But nowadays, it is widely accepted and almost demanded that you call people "Asian-American" or "African-American." Roosevelt believed that this mentality would lead our nation to ruin.

In our public schools across the nation, multiculturalism is thought to be a noble subject of great importance for our children to learn. Meanwhile, students aren't learning basic American history. They couldn't tell you what Seward's Folly was, or who shot William McKinley. In some communities in the southwestern states, school children are taught American history form textbooks provided by the Mexican consolate which teach from the viewpoint of Santa Anna, who believed we stole that land from Mexico. This multicultural, political correctness results in the "reconquistador" mentality in the southwest. They aren't taught what it means to be an American, especially children of immigrants who grow up in their own ethnic communities, speak their native language, and practice their native customs day in and day out. We're supposed to just accept the fact that many immigrants don't consider themselves Americans. They don't want to assimilate and don't feel they have to, then complain when they feel they're discriminated against because they can't compete in a work force outside their community. They don't have a sense of pride for this country, and it's a main contributor to our population's lack of patriotism.

Millions of immigrants have come to this country to live a better life and to do things they would never have a chance to do in their native land. We are constantly told that not only can we not criticize their choice to not assimilate, but WE must adapt to THEM in order for them to feel accepted. I say, to hell with that! I'm fed up with immigrants coming here and taking advantage of our capitalism and government grants, which many native-born Americans can't receive, and never taking the time to learn a damn word of english. They want to be involved in the political process, but can't read a ballot. They want to criticize our government's laws and policies with no understanding of our history. Instead of flying Old Glory, they hang the flag of their "motherland" in their rear-view mirrors and in front of their houses. What's the point of immigrating to this country if you're not going to become an American?

In 1915, Teddy Roosevelt stated the following in an address to the Knights of Columbus in New York City:

"Americanism is a matter of the spirit and of the soul. Our allegiance must be purely to the United States. We must unsparingly condemn any man who holds any other allegiance. But if he is heartily and singly loyal to this Republic, then no matter where he was born, he is just as good an American as anyone else."

Where is the spirit and loyalty in today's immigrants? Where is this spirit being taught in today's schools? Our country cannot continue to be divided by cultural boundaries and cannot be held hostage by activists who preach political correctness. We are supposed to be one nation. We're supposed to be one culture. We're supposed to be patriots. We must be Americans first, before we can succeed at anything else. We must teach naturalized and native-born citizens alike, the culture of America and what it means to be an American.

"We are a nation, not a hodge-podge of foreign nationalities. We are a people, and not a polyglot boarding house." - T.R.