Today’s immigrants don’t want to assimilate

We are a country of immigrants. Each group struggled as they came to the United States to take part in the American dream – to have the opportunity to live free, to better themselves and their children. To be an American was something to be proud of, something you yearned to become.
Immigrants struggled to learn the English language, to think like an American, to work hard and create a better life for the next generation. They gave their lives for the concept of America, to keep it free and defend the country against all enemies.
Immigrants in the past, although yearning to be American, did not lose their heritage and they were proud of their culture. But they assimilated into American life. I love to go to ethnic celebrations that happen around the country. I want to learn about the culture, dances and food of other countries. Children want to understand how it was in “the good old days” for their parents or grandparents. You can be an American and not forget where you came from.
So what has gone amiss with this process?
It appears today that many people who come to the United States are seeking refuge, but not interested in assimilating into American culture. They want their own land, their own law, and their own language. And liberal America seems to be accommodating their wishes. They don’t have to speak English, and they live in neighborhoods that the police won’t patrol because they are too dangerous. There is no assimilation into the American culture.
If immigrants want to live in America and benefit from its wealth and kindness, they should become part of the culture that made America so great. They should work hard, obey laws, respect their neighbors, and dream big.
But the accommodation of displaced tribes will not add to the value of this great nation. It will only weaken and dismantle our core beliefs. We cannot be just diverse groups of people living next to each other that is not a nation. For a nation to exist, it must have borders it can defend. It must have laws that are obeyed and enforced. A nation has to have a culture that defines the nature of its people.
America is a unique nation. Nothing in history can rival the wealth and freedom this country has developed. No country has given more and been more charitable. Are we perfect in every aspect? No. Things happened in America’s past we should be ashamed of, but things also happened we should be extremely proud of. It’s in the United States that we can correct our shortcomings and strive to become a better nation.
I see no other nation around the globe, nor in history, in which I would rather live. I see no other political or economic system now, or in the past, that has allowed more freedom, or more opportunity, than the capitalist republic we now have. I am not interested in changing from a system that, although flawed in some ways, has worked for so many for so long. Socialist utopias do not exist, as history has demonstrated time and time again.
We cannot allow political correctness to make us feel guilty and allow illegal aliens to flood over our borders. We must stop illegal immigration into this country, or we have no country. We must however, develop a legal process that allows the continuation of legal immigration. There should be a process to assimilate immigrants to our core culture.
Officials need to know who is entering this country and for what purpose. Illegal aliens who have committed crimes should be deported. There should be no sanctuary for illegal alien criminals, as the victims of their crime had no sanctuary from them.
Finally, we need to build a wall of whatever nature to define, defend and curtail border crossings.
God bless America and all who enter – legally.
Flickinger is the president of Tom Flickinger & Associates, a management consulting firm.