What Is An American

The United States of America is a country unique in the history of the world. It’s the first and only country to be based not on an ethnicity or language or religion or a geographic location, but rather, on ideas. Principles that enabled us to become the freest, most prosperous, most powerful nation in the history of planet Earth.

The three basic pillars of Americanism are; Liberty, In God We Trust, and E Pluribus Unum (interestingly enough, these three ideas appear on all of our currency). These pillars are important, because all the rest of America’s ideals, grow from this foundation. Ideals like equal justice under the law, the right to pursue whatever makes you happy, the right to property (including your self and your labor), the right to keep the tools needed to defend that property. The free enterprise system, wherein both parties to a transaction, acting in their own best interests, achieve an outcome that is mutually beneficial.

Discussing the three pillars in brief, Liberty, simply defined, is freedom, plus personal responsibility. You make your choices, and live with the consequences of them. Self-reliance is not a dirty word. E Pluribus Unum is Latin for “out of many, one”. Simply put, it means, that regardless of where we came from, what we believe, what color we are, or what our background is, we are united by our common faith in America’s ideals. So, if you’re at a block party, wearing a sombrero, while eating falafel, and dancing to a polka, you’re not engaging in “cultural appropriation”, you’re celebrating the melting pot that is America. America was never meant to be a salad, where different cultures remain separate, it’s a stew, where all of these cultures combine to make a delicious whole.

I saved In God We Trust for last, because these days, it’s the most controversial. Amongst the Founders-even those of an Atheistic bent, like Benjamin Franklin-the existence of Natural Law (even if they denied the existence of the Creator of said Law) was a given. The rights to life (and the defense thereof), liberty, the pursuit of happiness and property were intrinsic to the individual. No man or  man-made agency could bestow them. People had these rights, simply by virtue of their existence. Before the USA, it was the Divine Right of Kings, or the Right of Conquest. America changed all of that.

So, what then, is an American? It’s an individual who embraces America’s ideals. It doesn’t matter what color you are, or where you came from, what your religion is, if you’ve only just arrived, or your ancestors came over on the MAYFLOWER, if you embrace American culture and assimilate, you’re as American as anyone. That said, if you won’t let go of your old way of life, and you insist that the rest of American society bow to it, you’re a stranger in a strange land. You came here, seeking a better life. We don’t owe you a damn thing.

Which brings us to President Trump’s immigration/refugee moratorium. Where is it written that we have to take in anyone, simply because they want to come here? When did emigration to the United States become a human right? Every nation has a right, and is expected to act in its own best interests. Letting in military aged men, from countries that routinely chant “Death to America”, is clearly not in our best interest.

As to separating illegal immigrant families, President Trump was simply enforcing a law, passed by a Democrat-controlled Congress and signed by a Democrat president (Obama). Most of the pictures of children in cages are from 2013 and 2014. Abraham Lincoln said, “If you want to expose a bad law, enforce it.” Congress legislates, NOT the president. It’s up to Congress to fix the law. Trump wants common-sense immigration reform. He’s not wrong. A country without borders is not a country at all.

For those of you who want to throw the Emma Lazarus poem at me (“Give me your tired, your poor…”), keep in mind that Lazarus, like all poets, spoke in metaphor. Her words were not, and were never intended to be a summation of America’s immigration policy. Most of you reading this are probably not aware of the fact that between the years of 1924 and 1965, there was no legal immigration at all! The borders were effectively closed, in order to allow those who had come here in the wake of World War I to assimilate. To become Americans. So, unclench everybody, Trump’s actions are hardly Fascistic, they’re not even unprecedented.

The REAL history of America is that of ordinary people doing extraordinary things. It has been my privilege to know people, first generation (legal) immigrants to the United States, who established a life for themselves, here. They embraced American values. They assimilated into American culture. In effect, they were Americans before they even set foot on our soil. They knew that the American Way was better than any other way. That’s why the came to the USA. So they could be free.

The USA is the last, best hope for human freedom on Earth. If we lose it here, if we head down the path of despotism, there is nowhere to escape to. We are humanity’s last stand. Short of Jesus’ second coming, there is no hope for Truth and Justice in the world. Fight. Fight to your dying breath. Be like the Founders…Pledge your life, your fortune and your sacred honor. Mean it. God bless the USA, and the USA bless God.