Several Americas

Then Senator John Edwards once stated that there are two Americas – a careful study of our nation will reveal that he had a poor grasp of mathematics. By my count there are at least four Americas.

Our country is divided into tribes, and then sub-tribes of people:

1. Conservatives – mostly older white folks who have traditional values and would have the United States return to a simpler, less government intrusive time.
2. Liberals – a mixture of young folks who want government to provide for all their needs from cradle to grave and older folks who want to give money away to the former – so long as it isn’t their money.
3. Productive blacks – people that DuBois termed as the ten percent who work hard, attend to their families and are a productive part of society.
4. Inner city blacks – that group that distinguishes itself by reducing their own population through drug wars and street turf battles, and when not consumed with self-extermination find some reason to loot and rob.
5. Young black college attendees – a sub-group which believe that college is a place to go and be mollycoddled and feel safe as opposed to studying and being exposed to new ideas.
6. Muslims – those people who practice the religion of Islam and go about their daily lives, and at least somewhat assimilate into society.
7. Radical Muslims – a sub-group of those people who practice the ancient model of Islam and believe that it is the destiny of Islam to conquer the world for Allah.
8. Hispanics – those folks who immigrated legally into the United States and for the most part work and are productive citizens.
9. Illegals – those law breakers who are here for the benefits and free services which are not even available to many of legal citizens.

And from this kettle of entirely different fish somehow America is supposed to survive. The question is how?

We have reached a point in our society where the tail is truly wagging the dog. Minorities are provided majority status and dictate public policy – what constitutes religious tolerance, who is entitled to what, and how much the working world will ultimately have to contribute to keep the free candy store open.

Unless we are the descendants of American Indians – we are the sons and daughters of immigrants – and even those we consider as “native Americans” came to America from somewhere else on the earth. The great difference is that our forefathers came to this country to become Americans—they wanted to learn the language – the culture – and wanted to be a part of our society. Unfortunately modern immigrants want to bring their language – culture – and even their religious laws with them and expect us to make exception for anything they want to do no matter how it violates our sensibilities and the social order.

What it means to be an American is constantly being redefined. Being an American can mean that one is here to hide amongst us and plot to kill as many of us as possible. Being an American can mean “milking the white cow” of every drop of her generosity. Being an American can mean “dialing 1 for English” and printing election ballots in dozens of languages for people who are required to be able to read and speak English to become a United States citizen. Sometimes I wonder if being an American now means being a part of about 350 million people now living in some warped giant social experimental social.

Those of us who are advanced in years have no doubt seen the best of America. We will have to be content to live our days – hopefully in relative comfort and financial security – while the world around us changes in ways that we never imagined. And that is why Mr. Trump excels in the Republican field – not because he is necessarily an able leader – but, because like Bill Clinton he feels our pain and panders to our frustrations.

Have a good week. Bill Shuey is a freelance writer from North Carolina.