this majority-minority thing

Can't let this one pass...Bryan Preston has some great comments about the new majority-minority thing. In other words, there are more non-whites than whites in Texas. This in itself isn't a bad thing, but the situation in Texas and other border states certainly is. Mr. Preston sums it up nicely:

The problem with this as I see it isn't necessarily the numbers of immigrants, it is the quality. Immigrants should respect our laws, respect our culture and adopt our values. Otherwise, if they have no interest in doing these things, they should not emigrate. They should stay where they were born. Adopting our values and way of life should be part of the deal that allows them to come here.

Very well put. It's not the sheer multitude of immigrants that matters so much but the type and attitudes of those coming in. When someone comes to America they should strive to be American and make a positive contribution to the society they desire to join--period. There's no middle ground here. If someone doesn't want to be American they shouldn't move to America. Is that so hard to understand? If one group wants to force its way of life upon another by sending it over with their countrymen, we call that invasion, not immigration. Hence the well-chosen title of Malkin's first book.

Case in point: It has been pointed out that during the Irish Potato Famine days of early last century many Irish immigrants came to the states. So many, in fact, that the number of incoming Irish as a percentage of the U.S. population was much higher than it is with hispanics today. But there's a huge difference in the "quality" aspect. The Irish arrived with next to nothing and had to assimilate just to survive. And assimilate they did. Granted there wasn't the language barrier we see today and the Irish who made it here had a very strong work ethic, but the point is that they tried to become Americans while still retaining some parts of their own culture. In other words they actually contributed to the "melting pot" instead of staying out altogether.

Modern-day hispanic illegals, however, have proven themselves to have no desire to become any more American than is necessary to get American jobs and send American money home. After all, they're breaking the law just by living here so they clearly don't see a need to adhere to our rules and they'd get deported if they did. So the problem is that we're seeing an entire subculture that bears very little resemblance to our America being created among a huge chunk of the population. Unlike the Irish of yesteryear, these new immigrants do not have a healthy respect for American heritage and laws. Thus they are not contributing to the culture but staying separate from it and even hurting it.

Can any country continue to be a country for long with this kind of division? Can any country hope to patch together so many cultures different from its own and expect to thrive? Hasn't worked in the past, isn't working now, won't work in the future. This isn't rocket science, folks.