Should Americans retain their ties to the lands from which their ancestors came?"?

Question

iam having a debate about this and i need to know both sides of the argument, particulary the no side. thanks

thanks for the responses, let me tell you the sides we are taking CREVECOEUR for debating the side of no we should not retain ties and Alex haley for yes we should retain sides thanks. any tips would be great too.

Answer 1

Simply put, WHY?

I didn't come from there. My grandparents left and came to this country to make their home and become part of this country, legally I might add.

Unlike many of those that are among the new influx of people within this country, my grandparents became Americans and then had American children. Those American children then had their own children - and now our children are now having children. All American. All legally having a right to be here. No immigration laws broken. No welfare programs used, all supported themselves - and it most def. was not easy all the time to do so.

That doesn't mean that I don't know my roots - I do. But I have no ties at all with Ireland other than having had grandparents that were born there. After over 100 years passing - me claiming a tie would seem rather foolish.

Answer 2

I can't see any reason why an American would want to split loyalties. Most people who claim the "hyphenated" American status don't REALLY retain any ties. African-Americans may occasionally wear clothing that is reminiscent of African fashions in some ways or hairstyles of the same type. Irish-Americans wear green and party on St. Patrick's Day. Italian-Americans and others only retain some rudimentary cooking concepts from their homeland. All of these are really just shallow little tokens in respect to retaining any real ties to their lands of origin. It's all rather sad and pathetic. It's also rather embarrassing (or should be) when they come into contact with actual citizens of these countries and claim kinship on such a flimsy basis.

The only people who are actually retaining ties are the Mexicans (who aren't REALLY Americans anyway, as they are illegal) and other hispanic groups who are forming a subculture and refusing to meld into the American culture.

Answer 3

When I did the math and realized the United States is no longer the same United States that my grand-father and father grew up in, it made me realize something.

When I realized that anytime I have to travel across town to avoid the dangerous parts of town, it challenged my beliefs.

When I realized that the US is being flooded with third-worlders who will inherit this nation ... a nation their fathers and grand-father did not fight for, it challenged my beliefs.

When I realized how the vast majority of ethnic groups, have the NAACP, the ADL, LULAC, ImmigrationVoice.org pushing their agenda, it challenged my beliefs.

When I realized the vast amount of crime committed by thirdworlders and how the US media protects them, absolutely gruesome crims have recently been committed in the US by thirdworlders yet you hear nothing of it from the media, it challenged my beliefs.

America is a shell of itself. It's NOT a nation, it's an economic zone being exploited while it still remains. A nation consists of like people, who share something in common. What do American's share? Starbucks? Microsoft Word?

All this being the case, I see myself more as a Christian first, and a person of European decent second.

Answer 4

Yes, absolutely. My ancestry is French- English. My ancestor was Simon de Montfort. He established the very first English Parliament, which is the basis of our Congress. His father and a group of barons a generation before wrote and forced King John Lackland to sign the Magna Carta, the basis for our Constitution. He was murdered in battle by Edward I. He died for his beliefs in freedom and democracy. A marble frieze of him resides over one of the doors in our Capitol Rotunda. I will never forget this. It reminds me of just how important our freedoms and our democracy are, and how they were inherited from two European countries...France and England. Our democracy did not just spring up out of no where.

Answer 5

There is nothing wrong with being proud of where you or your ancestors came from. The problem comes when people feel that we should change to accommodate those ancestral ties. You just have to remember that you are American first who happens to have ancestors from a certain area.

Answer 6

Wouldn't that depend on your culture. Some cultures try to retain some acestoral history within the family. Others don't. Some become so Americanized that they feel the need to completely adapt to succeed. That means letting it all go. Then there are some of us who are complete mutts like me...English, French, Norwegian, Ukranian, Seminol Indian...where would I even begin?

Answer 7

First generation emigrants might, but later ones probably will not simply because it is foreign to them. Many people have come to the United States because of problems of many sorts in their own home lands and tend to want to have as little to do with their ancestral home as is possible. It is more likely that their only tie will be relatives that still live there. While their culture might remain with them, it still tends to become intermingled with the culture of America.

Answer 8

yes of course! I'm a mixed mutt though so I wouldn't keep ties with all the lands my ancestors came from the only one i really care about is italy sorry to the rest of my ancestors

Answer 9

I say emphatically yes. Peoples' roots are important in telling them who they are. We need the traditions that come from our country of origin. Those that say no are afraid immigrants will not assimilate, but the reality is that it has always taken until the second native-born generation to be truly assimilated. That will continue, whether people are in touch with their home country.

Answer 10

depends on the individual, and if he so chooses for his own or family reasons, he has the right to do so without questioning his patriotism just because you may think it is wrong to do so. but if only for political reasons then you have the right debate him on his reasons.