Finally, Other People Are Starting to Get It!!
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061113/ap_on_re_us/citizenship_test
It appears as though the immigration department is going to change its citizenship test to include more questions that are more conceptual and more meaningful: What is a democracy? What is the purpose of voting?
In a American society that seems to be drifting more and more towards relativism, assigning virtues to the differences between cultures to even those cultures whose values run contrary to American values, this is a step in the right direction. If America is going to remain a powerful force in the next century, we need to consolidate our values and our identity. We need to refocus on the commonalities between us as Americans and to focus on the history of this country, specifically on the values, attitudes, and philosophies that made this country great: the rights of the people, the role of government, etc. If we do not, we will succumb to the pressures of multiculturalism wherein we will no longer have a cohesive identity, and we will be a weaker country because of it. We will fall like the Roman Empire did, and like Europe is right now. Nationalism gets a bad rap...we should be proud of who we are. We should learn from our mistakes and move on.
By making individuals who want to be citizens learn those basic values that we hold dear, this awareness will make us a better country. New citizens will probably know more than the average high school graduate who, educated in our multicultural education system could probably not tell you what the concept of federalism is, but could of course tell you all about Muslim culture.
http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/?entry=22834&only
If we do not know who we are and where we come from as a country, we will be doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past. Multiculturalism will not bring us all together as Americans, but a common American identity will.
- burke
It appears as though the immigration department is going to change its citizenship test to include more questions that are more conceptual and more meaningful: What is a democracy? What is the purpose of voting?
"The idea is not to toss up roadblocks, it's to make sure people who apply for citizenship and want to become citizens understand and adhere to the values we have as a society, the values that are part of the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights."
In a American society that seems to be drifting more and more towards relativism, assigning virtues to the differences between cultures to even those cultures whose values run contrary to American values, this is a step in the right direction. If America is going to remain a powerful force in the next century, we need to consolidate our values and our identity. We need to refocus on the commonalities between us as Americans and to focus on the history of this country, specifically on the values, attitudes, and philosophies that made this country great: the rights of the people, the role of government, etc. If we do not, we will succumb to the pressures of multiculturalism wherein we will no longer have a cohesive identity, and we will be a weaker country because of it. We will fall like the Roman Empire did, and like Europe is right now. Nationalism gets a bad rap...we should be proud of who we are. We should learn from our mistakes and move on.
By making individuals who want to be citizens learn those basic values that we hold dear, this awareness will make us a better country. New citizens will probably know more than the average high school graduate who, educated in our multicultural education system could probably not tell you what the concept of federalism is, but could of course tell you all about Muslim culture.
http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/?entry=22834&only
If we do not know who we are and where we come from as a country, we will be doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past. Multiculturalism will not bring us all together as Americans, but a common American identity will.
- burke
posted by The Counterweight at 7:29 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home