Patriotism

I always admired Teddy Roosevelt. I've visited his home twice and read biographies.

He wrote about his ideas on immigrants and being an AMERICAN in 1907 that were posted on Facebook.

I had mixed feelings. The first part I agree with whole-heartedly.

“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."

The second part I have more trouble with. One cannot eliminate part of their life, their early cultural heritage, nor should they be asked to do so.

"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. We have room for but one flag, the American flag …

The analogy that comes to mind is a parent who has a second child. They should not be made to give up the first child. To ask someone to give up part of their life, is like taking a plant and replanting it.
New roots grow. If someone came along and cut off the roots nearest the plant, the plant would die.

On the other hand if the new roots that grew were cut off, the plant also could die because there is not enough to tie them to the soil.

In this global world the roots from both places can make the plant more beautiful.

We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language … and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people.”

I agree that people should speak the language of the country where they hold citizenship, but to limit oneself to a single language shuts out knowledge of literature, news and information about the rest of the world. Studies since Roosevelt's time show that being multi-lingual is good for the brain.

People change countries for many reasons and times. It can be the bad ones, bombs, natural disasters, a dictator, uncontrolled crime, The good ones can be adventure, a better job, falling in love with a person from another country, studying, research or anything the human mind can imagine.

When I had to chose between a bank account and my birth country, I gave up being a dual, but that does not stop me caring about my birth country. Nor does caring about my birth country make me care any less about the country that has taken me in.

I sometimes think about myself as an international with deep, deep ties to two places that have been so part of what makes me who I am.