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Are We Americans - First and Foremost?

     America is the great melting pot of the world, but there is a lot of unnecessary divisiveness in the stew.  It seems that ethnic groups want to be known for where they came from before they are known for where they now live.  Religious groups want to impose their beliefs on and above all others.  Political groups have immersed themselves in polarity as some form of righteousness.  And We, The People, who make up the fabric of America, are tearing apart. 

     I’m Irish.  That means my ancestors came from Ireland.  I didn’t come from Ireland; I’ve never set foot there.  Nonetheless, I have a great fondness for anything Irish, from green beer to Irish phrases.  However, I am not an Irish American.  I am an American, first and foremost. 

     In the early 1800’s in New York City, there we gangs comprised on ethnic groups.  The Irish gangs were some of the worst.  There was a good deal of blood shed on the streets of the city as Irish gangs defended their turf.  Yet, they were not somewhere in Ireland.  They were now in America, attempting to defend their history, culture and beliefs from all of America. 

     Were they treated as second-class citizens when they arrived?  Absolutely.  Were they discriminated against?  Undeniably, yes.  Is that unusual in America, or unique in the world?  No.  Were the Irish viewed as drunkards?  Well, the term “paddy wagon” was coined in New York to identify the vehicle that hauled away the drunk Irish who over-imbibed, spilled out of taverns onto the streets and into fist fights.

     In time, Irish Americans melded into society and became Americans, first and foremost.  Today, every March 17^th, there are parades in cities and towns all over America celebrating St. Patrick, a personage who drove the snakes out of Ireland.  While that celebration has nothing to do with America, on March 17^th everyone can be Irish, and many with no genealogical connection to Ireland joyously join in the festivities.  No one questions their motives or their cultural ties.  On that day, they are are Irish, but they are Americans, first and foremost, who are celebrating cultural camaraderie.

     There is a growing population in this country of Latin Americans.  Some of them are the first generation of their family to arrive here.  Just as the first generation of Irish struggled to become Americans, instead of remaining Irish Americans, these new settlers are struggling to shift from being Latin first and American second, to being American, first and foremost. 

     Now we see various ethnic groups defending their turf in new ways.  There is always some push somewhere for instruction, or signage, or documents to be provided in both Spanish and English.  Imagine if the Irish had insisted on documents or signs in Gaelic!  This cultural holdover doesn’t bring the stew in the melting pot together.  It creates a visible and contentious oil-and-water divide. 

     Understandably, there is an emotional attachment to our ancestry.  However, when it divides us because we see ourselves as a different and unique social group from the rest of the melting pot that wishes to remain that way, we create more than a tempest in a teapot.

     Every attempt to force-fitting cultural, religious or political nuances into America creates contentious ethnic, financial, emotional, and political debate and discord in America.  And, as it becomes more commonplace, it also has become more polarizing, divisive and bitter.

     Each cultural preference that we attempt to embody in law pushes us further apart.  Every census exacerbates this with forms that classify us by our ethnicity and differences, rather than our commonalities.  Laws and lawsuits memorialize the divisions, establishing precedents for subcultures while alienating larger segments of society.