Even the US founders in personal letters were like "It's fine for people from any country to move here, but we wouldn't want America's English culture to get taken over by Germans or Italians."
At least Americans can say they've been bombarded with "We've always been a nation of immigrants!" propaganda for the last 100 years. Canadians have no excuse.
"It's fine for people from any country to move here, but we wouldn't want America's English culture to get taken over by Germans or Italians."
That's my take. Or rather, it's always been my opinion that, if you move to another country, you learn their language, take on your culture as best you can. "When in Rome, do as the Romans do," as the saying goes. I could never be Japanese, or Nigerian, or even English for that matter (and one side of my family originally came to the US from JoLlY oLd EnGlAnD) but I could still learn the ways of whatever respective place I move to and try to integrate as best I can.* As a foreigner, the host nation wouldn't be nor should be obligated to bend over backward for me, a complete outsider. If things were sensible the US would have this stance and encourage assimilation into the host culture and discourage the continuation of others, but it hasn't. Mores the pity for us. Multicultural states tend to fall apart into chaos and discord sooner or later over it.
But then again, things tend to get messy when such is put into practice. Idk.
I just know I wish we still encouraged the idea of the US as "melting pot"—the immigrants of the respective places shedding their old identities and joining under a new, American, culture—instead of the current idea of the US as "salad bowl"—each group retaining their own culture, separate from a greater all-encompassing American culture.
Even the US founders in personal letters were like "It's fine for people from any country to move here, but we wouldn't want America's English culture to get taken over by Germans or Italians."
At least Americans can say they've been bombarded with "We've always been a nation of immigrants!" propaganda for the last 100 years. Canadians have no excuse.
That's my take. Or rather, it's always been my opinion that, if you move to another country, you learn their language, take on your culture as best you can. "When in Rome, do as the Romans do," as the saying goes. I could never be Japanese, or Nigerian, or even English for that matter (and one side of my family originally came to the US from JoLlY oLd EnGlAnD) but I could still learn the ways of whatever respective place I move to and try to integrate as best I can.* As a foreigner, the host nation wouldn't be nor should be obligated to bend over backward for me, a complete outsider. If things were sensible the US would have this stance and encourage assimilation into the host culture and discourage the continuation of others, but it hasn't. Mores the pity for us. Multicultural states tend to fall apart into chaos and discord sooner or later over it.
But then again, things tend to get messy when such is put into practice. Idk.
I just know I wish we still encouraged the idea of the US as "melting pot"—the immigrants of the respective places shedding their old identities and joining under a new, American, culture—instead of the current idea of the US as "salad bowl"—each group retaining their own culture, separate from a greater all-encompassing American culture.
*not to say I would or plan to leave the US.