I have never studied advanced human interactions, sociology, or psychology. I am an engineer; I attempt to understand the science. I can run a nuclear reactor, design a robotic system, and clean water removing whatever is the issue. I am a reader, an avid reader. It is difficult for me to footnote opinion pieces because my opinions have formed and morphed over the years, based on the number of books I have read. My personal library has over 450 titles covering the Founding, the American Revolution, the Framing of the Constitution, Natural Law, Common Law, Economics, historical books of reason, and the like. My engineering library is only 100 books, while the fictional literature is well over 500 books, most donated. I am not stating this to win praise. The more I read, the more I see.
Teddy Roosevelt gave a speech to Knights of Columbus, which included,
“There is no room in this country for hyphenated Americanism. When I refer to hyphenated Americans, I do not refer to naturalized Americans. Some of the very best Americans I have ever known were naturalized Americans, Americans born abroad. But a hyphenated American is not an American at all. This is just as true of the man who puts “native” before the hyphen as of the man who puts German or Irish or English or French before the hyphen. 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.”
As one of the first progressives in this Nation, I believe he was correct in his assessments of the hyphenated American. There is absolutely nothing wrong with being of Irish descent, German or Chinese, it does not matter, but once one takes the oath to this Nation, we are Americans regardless of our background. We embrace the good and the bad, we attempt to expand the good and eliminate the bad, we are Americans, that is what we do.
Then it hit me, in today’s world we have Italian-Americans, Japanese-Americans, French-Americans, Irish-Americans, African-Americans and so many others. This Nation has 142 hyphenated Nation-Americans groups and because the 54 Nations of Africa have been defined as African-Americans, a Continent-American. Once Asian-Americans were a Continent-American, but years ago, it was deemed inappropriate to say Asian-American. But we still say African-American.
My issue with Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO), Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), Mad Max Waters (D-CA) and Nikole Hannah-Jones is that they are not representing African-Americans, they are representing themselves and their interests. Their language does not help black Americans, it enslaves African-Americans. Why do they pander the way they do?
Let us think about this in terms of social compacts, those inherited traits that provides the initial community where family units joined in common projects for the safety of the group. Those initial communities occurred before Nations. Then communities with common concerns, needs, language and other issues formed cities, which became city-states. The strong men, those with the most skills, became the leaders and Nations were born.
Throughout history, we have had constant war between Nations, and throughout the turmoil, the identity of the people grew stronger. They were proud of their heritage.
And then the land of opportunity opened for business. Over time, millions came to our shores, searching for an adventure and a new life. They keep their pride in their homeland, understood the history. With many, the “homeland” provided an instant acceptance. One never messed with the Italian-Americans, for they all supported each other. The same happened with the Germans, the Irish, the Chinese and possibly even the French.
When you met someone, one quickly covered what State, City, original heritage and religion. It formed a tribal alliance of sorts.
But that does not seem to happen in the black community, especially with the elected leaders and many of the community leaders. It seems as if they take advantage of the people.
If a leader of your group, such as Cori Bush, announced that “Independence Day is only for white people, while black people still are not free”. She then shifted to “police violence, health care, housing and education apartheid”. She then stated, “End the slavery permitted under the 13th Amendment, end the war on drugs, end police violence.” Not one solution to a problem, only vitriol and division. How does that help the African-American citizens?
Hannah-Jones demanded tenure prior to starting her job at UNC. She wrote the groundbreaking lies of the 1619 Project. How does this set an example for her fellow African-American citizens? Perhaps it states that they should just take things.
Mad Maxine Waters stated that the entire Declaration of Independence was racist because “they were not thinking about us then, but we are thinking about us now!” Again, where is the help, where are the solutions.
Rep Jamaal Bowman wanted to “reflect on the full story of America today. Black people were not freed in 1776. Despite a system stacked against us, we must continue to use our collective power to change that system.” What is he talking about? How is he helping the African-American community?
I have never heard of an Italian-American taking such advantage of over other Italian-Americans. It may have happened in other nation-American groups, but I have not found evidence.
When one reflects on the cultures of Africa, most of the Nations hate the other Nations. They have constant disputes and wars. There seems to be no common thread uniting the continent.
Perhaps that is something lost due to the slave trade, when stronger tribes traded “inferior” humans for goods and benefits. Today, the race baiters and politicians are acquiring wealth and notoriety while their fellow African-American citizens continue to live in government housing, accept government food stamps, government funding and government education. The upper-class continues shift the blame for failure, while lambasting anyone who escaped the system.
Shame, shame. What does it take to remove the hyphen and just be Americans? That would definitely improve this great Nation and place a huge spotlight on race baiters meaning to divide.
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