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Jul. 4th, 2008 08:16 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sophiaserpentiaOur landlord has a few of his relatives over for a barbeque and get-together on the Fourth of July. I saw them on the porch earlier today, speaking to one another in Armenian.
And i thought, Ah, America.
When![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
lady_babalon and i went to the Blue Hills park a few weekends ago, many of the families around us were of different races, and faiths, and listened to music sung in languages other than English -- and i felt profoundly proud of living in the United States.
How many places in the world are there where a person can live, and speak whatever language they wish to speak, practice whatever religion they wish to practice, with the expectation that there will be no interference from state or business or church or neighbor?
cowgrrl and i went to see a movie a little while back called "The Visitor," and among other things it was about this question, of what is an American? It is a white person who speaks English, was born here, and works in a cushy job? Is it a person who has come here from another country without documentation, practices Islam, speaks Arabic, makes music in Central Park, and earns money where he can under the table? The bold answer, the answer that takes courage, is yes and yes. Because every person who lives here brings something special to the people around them, to society as a whole. People have intrinsic worth, and when you say this, you have to carry it forward to the implications therein.
Thankfully the Founders had the foresight to put in the Constitution that the US does not have an official national religion. And so far, we have resisted the call to declare an official national language, though this debate comes up every generation or so and rages even now. Even now there are people claiming that the US is under "silent invasion" from Latinos and Latinas, that they are barbarians who will undermine our culture and our language and our religion. Seriously, "barbarian invasion" is basically what the influx of undocumented immigrants is being called - even though our economy and our politics - and our freedom - pulled them here. And even though they have paid sales tax on every purchase and have worked the fields and unloaded the trucks and staffed the kitchens of our country, they are spoken of as a burden. And even though they bring the wonder of who they are, they are spoken of as a burden.
It is not the place of the government to tell a person what language to speak, or what religion to practice, or whom they can marry or have sex with. It is the purpose of the government to serve us in our own peaceful choices. The Founders didn't actually see it that way, nor have subsequent generations of Americans - witness the practice of slavery, the long history of second-class citizenship for women, or the consignment of Indians to apartheid-like reservations which continues to this day. But it is the America we can visualise here and now.
And i thought, Ah, America.
When
lady_babalon and i went to the Blue Hills park a few weekends ago, many of the families around us were of different races, and faiths, and listened to music sung in languages other than English -- and i felt profoundly proud of living in the United States.How many places in the world are there where a person can live, and speak whatever language they wish to speak, practice whatever religion they wish to practice, with the expectation that there will be no interference from state or business or church or neighbor?
cowgrrl and i went to see a movie a little while back called "The Visitor," and among other things it was about this question, of what is an American? It is a white person who speaks English, was born here, and works in a cushy job? Is it a person who has come here from another country without documentation, practices Islam, speaks Arabic, makes music in Central Park, and earns money where he can under the table? The bold answer, the answer that takes courage, is yes and yes. Because every person who lives here brings something special to the people around them, to society as a whole. People have intrinsic worth, and when you say this, you have to carry it forward to the implications therein.Thankfully the Founders had the foresight to put in the Constitution that the US does not have an official national religion. And so far, we have resisted the call to declare an official national language, though this debate comes up every generation or so and rages even now. Even now there are people claiming that the US is under "silent invasion" from Latinos and Latinas, that they are barbarians who will undermine our culture and our language and our religion. Seriously, "barbarian invasion" is basically what the influx of undocumented immigrants is being called - even though our economy and our politics - and our freedom - pulled them here. And even though they have paid sales tax on every purchase and have worked the fields and unloaded the trucks and staffed the kitchens of our country, they are spoken of as a burden. And even though they bring the wonder of who they are, they are spoken of as a burden.
It is not the place of the government to tell a person what language to speak, or what religion to practice, or whom they can marry or have sex with. It is the purpose of the government to serve us in our own peaceful choices. The Founders didn't actually see it that way, nor have subsequent generations of Americans - witness the practice of slavery, the long history of second-class citizenship for women, or the consignment of Indians to apartheid-like reservations which continues to this day. But it is the America we can visualise here and now.
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Date: 2008-07-05 02:21 am (UTC)such an alien concept after living in the north for so many years... the north is a thriving, bubbling hustle bustle with flavors of india, africa, greece, italy, the middle east, asia, and the european dreadlocked crew... its the home of the politcal "lefties" and artists... hippies and weirdos... being white and blonde on this side of town makes me stand out like dogs balls.
over time i have lost my white educated accent and now speak with a strange mixture of all the above... even though i work in the top university our state boasts...
i am one of those white, educated, english speaking people (though with far more interesting dress sense!) but the point is, i'm so used to being just one of many flavors in the cultural soup that is the northern suburbs that visiting the east where i should have felt at home, made me feel like an alien completely out of her territory.
this is not to deny that there is white privilege in the north too. there is. and i am probably infuriatingly blind to some of the advantages i enjoy. but dating folk from the "white" side of town was an eye opener let me tell you! i was subtly excluded from all sorts of things for my northern suburbs ways. i ended up running back to back "home" to the north.
no subject
Date: 2008-07-05 02:58 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-05 03:08 am (UTC)Thankfully the Founders had the foresight to put in the Constitution that the US does not have an official national religion.
Lets see -- Massachusetts was settled by Puritans fleeing religious persecution in England, Rhode Island was settled by Roger Williams and others fleeing religious persecution in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania was settled by Quakers fleeing religious persecution in England, and Maryland was settled by Catholics fleeing religious persecution in England. This probably had something to do with the "no official state religion" and "no religious test for public office" bits.
Seriously, "barbarian invasion" is basically what the influx of undocumented immigrants is being called - even though our economy and our politics - and our freedom - pulled them here.
Not to mention, in the case of Latin American immigrants, the War on Some Drugs, which has caused so much disruption of society and economy in some Latin American countries.
...the consignment of Indians to apartheid-like reservations which continues to this day.
Andrew Jackson ignored two Supreme Court rulings to displace the Cherokees from their homelands in North Carolina. Maybe if the SOB had been impeached we might have had a better policy towards the Native Americans.
no subject
Date: 2008-07-06 06:32 am (UTC)