Journal #7: Immigration

     Although Nativists are incorrect in their assertions that all immigrants are not assimilating and that they are endangering the American way of life, these same assertions are true for a portion of the immigrant population. Immigrants from Latin America are coming to the United States in record numbers, and it is their refusal to conform to our language and culture that is causing the problem that the Nativists are talking about today. A large amount of today's immigrants are coming from Asia, with the majority from India and China. These immigrants are typically well educated and skilled, and they are prepared to contribute to the diverse and skilled economy of the United States. I have spent a considerable amount of time around such people, and I have noticed that the Chinese and Indians, along with the various other cultures from Eastern Asia, have an extremely hard work ethic and they value this hard work that brings success, and they place great importance on leaving behind a better future for the next generation. These traits, although possessed by recent non-white immigrants, are uniquely American. They learn our language, and although they speak their native tongue at home with the other immigrants and first generation Americans, they do not ask for special privileges such as their own languages on driver's exams or food labels. 

     Nativists are correct when it comes to the recent influx of Hispanic immigrants. They are coming in record numbers, and according to the United States Census Bureau, Hispanics are expected to comprise over 30% of the population by 2030. The trend of huge amounts of Hispanics from third world countries combined with political correctness is creating a dangerous trend. Instead of being immersed in an English speaking classroom, many classrooms are adapting to hispanics and are allowing special classes in Spanish in American schools, payed for by American taxpayers. (The story has been told, time and time again, of the ancestor who has come to America with their coat, 10 dollars, and no English. In each and every case they are instantly immersed into the language, and come out just fine. Never is this story of the ancestor who came over and the signs were in their native tongue.) All of my ancestors came to this country not knowing a word of English, and they were all able to become fluent in no time, and of the 6 immigrants that came to this country (my maternal grandparents and my paternal great-grandparents), they couldn't combine their English vocabulary to form a sentence. Anyways, the Spanish speakers now have official government forms in their language, road signs in Spanish, and nearly all products have Spanish visible. This creates an image in the young Latino's mind that they are a protected class and should be allowed to operate separately from the American mainstream. Also, amnesty for illegal immigrants is popular with a sizable minority of politicians (whether they directly admit it or not), and this further reinforces the sentiments that because Mexico and its southern amigos are burdened economically and socially, its denizens have the right to come to America without any restrictions. This narrative fits perfectly into the hands of the far left who use the strategy of "divide and conquer" in which new classes of oppressed people are created, and then legislation to "protect" them is enacted in the hopes of getting the vote of the "victims". (There is too close a connection between elements of the Democratic Party and La Raza).

     In turn, Hispanics who are truly coming to this country and trying to adopt our values are overlooked, since Hispanics today are given so many opportunities to remain insulated from the rest of society. (My grandmother learned basic English by watching our soap operas, while today's Hispanics can be insulated from learning our customs by watching telenovelas on Telemundo ). To put an end to the phenomenon of Hispanic non-assimilation, the "protections" that are in place today such as offering government services in Spanish and allowing students with limited proficiency in English to not participate in normal classes must come to an end. 

     Also, the culture of Mexico and other Latin countries does not value traditional families and a hard work ethic as much as the cultures which are experiencing a large influx of immigrants. The percent of Hispanic households headed by single parents is 40%, compared to 16% for Asians. Also the incarceration rates of Hispanics is 2.43 times as much when compared to whites. These cultural differences contribute to the sense that Hispanics are not fully assimilated and are never going to be.

      Immigration, as a whole, has immensely helped America, and this country would not be where it is today if it were not for immigrants. Immigration, along with our constitution and our political culture of being a nation of "laws, not men", make up why this country is the greatest on Earth. Immigrants coming to America are always seeking a better life for themselves, and therefore America receives the best and the brightest from around the world. In turn, our country has an entrepreneurial spirit that makes living in America much better than anywhere else because it is only here where a poor European worker can move, send his kids to school, and they can start a business and invent new ideas that make life better here. In each and every age since the founding of the original colonies, America has been at the forefront of whatever technology was state of the art at the time. In the early days, we were known for our exceptional agriculture, as there were infinite possibilities for crops to be grown and land to be plowed. Our crops were in demand all over the world, and farmers poured into this country from Europe where they had been crammed into small, unproductive farms which they did not own. This country provided an escape. As industry began to replace agriculture as the forefront of technology, the United States led the way, and immigrants were an important part of that. Immigrants came to America to work in our factories and also to invent new ideas free from the political pressures of Europe. Now, manufacturing has been replaced by high-technology as the driving force behind our economy, and the United States is in the lead. Who invented Facebook, who has the world's biggest stock exchange, who has the largest economy? America. While China might be gaining steam and cranking out many plug-n-chug engineers, the best from that country are still coming to the United States to work, average people in China still enjoy few of the rights and freedoms present here, per capita income there is miniscule, and they are just feeding off of American ingenuity by making the products America invents, creating very little of their own along the way. Along its entire journey as a nation, America has attracted the best and most willing immigrants to assists in making the nation great, and without the huge amounts of immigration, America would be just another country, not exceptional as it is today. America is a melting pot of cultures. It absorbs the good and desirable traits of cultures, while also, importantly, melting the bad and undesirable traits out of immigrant cultures. This blending of cultures and the removal of poor traits makes for an environment containing a fraction of the animosity present between cultures in Europe, which emphasizes diversity and pays the price for it.  

     As a whole, immigration has greatly served this country, and will be a vital component in America's success in the future.