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Ellis Island
January 7, 2011 | Permalink
Comments
Wonder what happens if you change "Ellis Island" to "Rio Grande"...
Posted by: mike | Jan 7, 2011 8:43:38 PM
Diagram isn't quite correct, because the foreign alphabets aren't entirely transformed into, say, Times Roman. Some accdent marks remain. Some foreign letters or fonts remain. That's America. We're a melting pot but also a stew, which is -- I think -- delightful. Our diversity isn't entirely a homogenous much. Our ingredients retain some of their orginal flavors and textures. (Hmm... Sorry to have switch metaphors on you.) This is unique in human history: to have a multi-religious, multi-ethnic democracy... if we can keep it.
Posted by: Goeff | Jan 8, 2011 7:27:26 AM
Boy, Geoff, you are certainly welcome here but your pollyannaish UN open arms policy would seem to out of synch with this site?
My comment on the cartoon: I'm not sure that there is any sort of literacy requirement at all.
Posted by: 4blockhead | Jan 8, 2011 9:09:26 AM
Actually, the ONLY reason we were able to be a successful democracy is BECAUSE we had so many fragmented ethnic groups. Due to that, no one single group was able to grab up all they power like they always do (see South America) and create a rigged corruptocracy.
The competing groups kept everyone somewhat honest, and, as a result, you don't need a handful of envelopes to open a taco stand like you do in a lot of places.
The sad part is that ignorant folks are voting to replace the envelopes with government hoops to jump through and it produces the same effect.
And also, while it's nice that I am eating Pfeffernusse cookies and chow mein, don't for a second deny the fact that there is and had been, a distinct American culture, and it is valuable and central to our way of life and should be looked after. Sadly, we are stomping on it and calling it names in our institutions and teaching children (who we are teaching to be victims) that it is somehow, "unfair", or "insensitive". Wrong. It's beautiful. It's valuable and it has kept the world free at times. Take THAT, Rev Wright, Al Franken, BHO and Keith Olberdoosh and all the others...
--fog
Posted by: fog | Jan 8, 2011 10:45:25 AM
Mexicans didn't come through Ellis Island.
Posted by: Woody | Jan 14, 2011 11:49:07 AM
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