Imagine a place where the most adventurous, creative, hard-working,
and outgoing people would come together from all over the world. Add to this group a few key ingredients like
mutual respect, collaboration, and honesty.
Now imagine that this collection of fine people live together for generations,
mixing their good traits and their collaborative spirit into an ever growing
population. I am not describing an
imaginary Utopia. I am describing the
United States of America. We Americans
are a unique breed.
In 2005, a Johns Hopkins University psychologist name John Gartner
wrote an book called “The Hypomanic Edge” in which he concluded that the
brains of Americans shared a unique quality when compared to average people of
other countries. This trait, which he
called “ hypomania”, characterized his subjects as uniquely optimistic,
impulsive, and driven. These are the
very traits that caused most immigrants to declare that they would not tolerate
the life offered to them by their native countries. These are the traits that cause people to
drop all that they know of their native lands and set out for something better
in a place called America. These are the
traits that allowed these unique individuals to start from virtually nothing
and make their life in a strange new land.
As it turns out, America is uniquely filled with hypomaniacs.
You may wonder how these highly adventurous and competitive
folks didn't eventually attack one another once they landed on this new
soil. This is addressed by conservative
commentator Michael Medved in his 2008 book, “The 10 Big Lies about America”. Medved suggests that it is not greed,
dominance, or power that has drawn these poor foreigners to American soil;
rather it is a desire for free religion, fair labor practice, and honest
business ethic. According to Medved,
most immigrants came to America so they could own a home and raise a family in
a place where their hard work and honesty actually paid off! They most certainly didn't come here to
fight. They could have done that where
they came from. Throughout our history,
U.S. immigrants have been the most honest and hard-working people on earth.
 |
| Immigrants arrive at Ellis Island |
We could argue that the American immigration system has
worked because of our tight border security and our strict system of screening
those who enter here. This would simply
be untrue. Until 1875, we had virtually
no immigration laws whatsoever. Until
1925, immigrants were screened solely for good health and enough money to get
them situated for a week or so. During
this period, only 2% of immigrants were deported, usually due to illness or
mental disability. I believe it is fair
to argue that most of our ancestors came to America during this pre-1925 era. I know mine did, and they were hypomaniacs.
Given this background, I would strongly argue that any
immigrant family who manages to come to America, work hard, raise a family, and
get their children through high school with decent passing grades deserves to
become a U.S. Citizen. I believe they
have shown the fortitude of an American.
I believe they have passed the same test that my ancestors passed. For these people, it is not an American dream
- they have done the work necessary to make it into a reality. A successful and honest immigrant belongs in
America because they are wired to make the right difference in an honest and
fruitful way. They are driven to do the
right thing. For over 200 years we have
collected on this soil to do these things together.
We are the super society - pulled together because our ancestors had the
drive and the decency to earn their way. We are a unique breed.
Tony F. 2013
Imagine a place where the most adventurous, creative, hard-working,
and outgoing people would come together from all over the world. Add to this group a few key ingredients like
mutual respect, collaboration, and honesty.
Now imagine that this collection of fine people live together for generations,
mixing their good traits and their collaborative spirit into an ever growing
population. I am not describing an
imaginary Utopia. I am describing the
United States of America. We Americans
are a unique breed.
Given this background, I would strongly argue that any
immigrant family who manages to come to America, work hard, raise a family, and
get their children through high school with decent passing grades deserves to
become a U.S. Citizen. I believe they
have shown the fortitude of an American.
I believe they have passed the same test that my ancestors passed. For these people, it is not an American dream
- they have done the work necessary to make it into a reality. A successful and honest immigrant belongs in
America because they are wired to make the right difference in an honest and
fruitful way. They are driven to do the
right thing. For over 200 years we have
collected on this soil to do these things together.
We are the super society - pulled together because our ancestors had the
drive and the decency to earn their way. We are a unique breed.
It's hard not to see today's anti-immigrant sentiment as an extension of the 19th-century's anti-Irish sentiment, or the early 20th-c's anti-Italian or mid-century anti-Polish sentiment--same thing, different target (and with a nasty taint of racism to boot). And now we look back on those earlier prejudices and wonder that they ever mattered. J. F. K.'s Irishness was actually an issue in some circles. We used to tell Polack jokes. That's all so irrelevant now. I hope we'll be able to consider immigration from a practical standpoint and get away from the hysteria of "They're coming to take our jobs/it's not our country any more."
ReplyDeleteVery well said, Stacy. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteI had always personally believed that it was optimism and a drive to achieve that motivated most of the settlers across the ocean and over the continent. The thought that things could be better. Despite what some cynics might think, most of us aren't afraid of effort and toil to improve our world and our place in it.
DeleteMaybe that's why so many fictional groups that specialize in doing good for others have originated with American Authors. Things like your picture example the Legion of Super-Heroes, but also the Avengers, the Justice League, the United Federation of Planets, the Galactic Republic, and more are all examples of that kind of thing, and they are all American creations from the last hundred years. It's not that this kind of thing is unique to our culture, but we do seem to have a lot of them.
I believe you are right Mr. K. Americans love a hero and despise a villain. Perhaps we have a wide range of heroes because we come from a wide range of cultures.
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