Theodore Roosevelt on Becoming American

“In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an 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 upon the person's becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American...There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all. If he tries to keep segregated with men of his own origin and separated from the rest of America, then he isn’t doing his part as an American. We have room for but one flag, the American flag... We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language here and that is the English language, for we intend to see that the crucible turns our people out as Americans, and American nationality, and not as dwellers in a polyglot boarding house; and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people; Theodore Roosevelt  1907

Theodore Roosevelt, arguably one of our greatest if not the greatest president, made the following statement which is as critical to the continued health and vitality of our republic today as it was in 1907. 

The USA functions best as a melting pot in which all who come here to live, seek sanctuary and become members of our society assimilate. That means adopting our culture, learning our language, heeding our laws, contributing to the support of our government, paying taxes rather than accepting subsidies or seeking special exemptions or treatment, finding a job, and accepting our views of freedom, capitalism, education, polytheism, political system, and that we as Americans have no duty to change or adapt to the immigrant just because the views of the newcomers are different.

Our schools should not be required to offer classes in any language but English. With total immersion a child will learn our language. Providing bilingual studies inhibits assimilation. 

My parents became the adopted grandparents of Vietnamese child who came to their small town in Indiana at the age of 6 or 7 and  had nobody for “grandparents day” at school. They tutored him. He learned English through immersion, graduated from school with excellent grades, joined the US Military, assimilated and found an excellent job.  I am proud to consider Henry as a nephew and family member. Henry is part of our glorious melting pot. This is what is should mean to become American.

Libertarianism as the Foundation of the USA

A signifiant number of Americans that identify politically as either a democrat or a republican are ideologically Libertarians. Thomas Jefferson was a Libertarian thinker as were John Locke and Thomas Paine.

American independence, Manifest Destiny, westward expansion, pioneer spirit, prairie individualism, and  individualism lies solidly within the Libertarians ideology.  It is the deep seated belief that individuals make choices and are responsible for their actions. A true Libertarian believes that individuals have the inherent right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness with the knowledge that government should be limited and not infringe upon property.

Libertarians believe in the Rule of Law, personal responsibility, and the moral duty of each citizen to respect the rights of others without unreasonable incursion or interference by government. Libertarians are rightly suspicious of too much power in the hands of too few officials. As we have all seen throughout history, power is a corruptive, corrosive force. 

Thomas Jefferson noted that “We have more machinery of government than is necessary, too many parasites living on the labor of the industrious.” Regretfully, this recognition of Jefferson has been expanded exponentially since he walked this earth.

The principles upon which our nation were founded include individual liberty, individual freedoms, the right of the individual to own property without government intrusion, the rights of the individual states to establish laws for the citizen that reside there, the recognition that the central government should have limited powers, the rights of the individual to work hard and enjoy the fruits of his or her success. 

These are also the tenets of classical liberalism, which has been highjacked by the progressive socialists that believe if I work hard I should give the government my money to support those who do not work hard. 

Perhaps each person who has swallowed the Kool-aid of progressive socialism should consider attending a 12 Step Program for a period of time where those who are hurting learn: do not do for another what he or she can do for oneself as it robs the individual of the chance to succeed, achieve, learn a valuable lesson or fail and learn resilience. If we as a society never allow an individual to hit rock bottom, we deny them the chance to rise like the Phoenix from the ashes. This is tyranny.