Illegal Immigration

there should be a legal way to immigrate that's easier imo.

 

Yes, it would be hard.
http://immigrationreform.com/2014/1...lly-but-cost-taxpayers-more-than-113-billion/

--- Double Post Merged, May 7, 2016, Original Post Date: May 7, 2016 ---

You believe that the United States doesn't have culture...?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_United_States_inventions
We invented a lot more than the internet.

There are a lot of things that are truly American. Baseball, Basketball, chrome on cars... I mean, Chinese food is actually 90% American.

Because they're scared of getting deported... And not everyone can get rich. It's mathematically impossible.

Look at how things are in South American countries. Corruption, drug cartels, violence... Look at how things are here, pretty great by comparison.

 

Is there not a simple process by which immigrants can legally enter the country?

Now for my uneducated opinion:
America was built by running from oppression, and we would close our gates to people who are merely trying to do the same? Most (or at least a lot) of the comments on this thread are basing their arguments on the type of people coming across, when in fact, that is largely irrelevant. What matters is that they are not in a good place, and we must do the right thing and offer them our aide.
If you saw a man being assaulted on the street, and he ran to your house for help, would you shut him out? Sure, you take the risk that he may steal something, or even just make a mess, but that's a risk you take for his safety. In fact, I'm willing to guess that even if we knew for a fact he would steal from us, most of us would still let him in, as his being beaten outweighs our losing some item. Now, I don't care for the current system, and I would certainly like it to be reformed - but in the meantime I wouldn't want those people to be left to whatever opressions they are fleeing..

 

I believe the US has a culture. But one not of our own making - it was made my immigrants through and through.

It's the "American Dream" ideal I was talking about. They would not come to America if they didn't think they could find a better life, like the hundreds of millions of immigrants before them from Europe, Asia, South and Central America... all over the world, really.

Yes, but your point was that immigrants would destroy our culture. I'm saying that they can't destroy a culture, only influence it. Especially American culture, which was created by immigrants in only the past 200 someodd years. Also, I really like mexican food. So if they do bring that with them, that's a huge plus

 

Eh, it doesn't work that way. We conquered the land via arms, and some trickery. As history has shown, this is a legitimate method of gaining land.

 

I'll say my word in this, as I am Australian, and I'm currently doing a unit at school about refugees and immigrants.

As you may know, Australia has an immigration problem at the moment. The current system of working is known as Operation Sovereign Borders, created in 2014, which restricts any immigrant coming by boat to Australia to be put in offshore processing centres, or as some call, "detention centres". If they are found to be genuine refugees with no documentation, they will be either returned to their country or settled offshore. If they are found with legal documentation, they will be settled in Australia with a Temporary Restriction Visa, which restricts them from having English classes, supporting families, or applying for any permanent visas. This visa is valid for five years, and will be re-checked every five years.

Even though Australia only holds 175,000 odd refugees, this is still only 0.7% of Australia's population (23 million). Studies also show that 62% of Australians think that Australia is taking too many refugees, and 52% of Australians are asking the government to increase the severity of treatment of refugee treatment in detention centres. I think this is outrageous. Apparently, there is a myth that refugees come to Australia to "not contribute to the society", "use up Australia's resources" and to "invade Australia". There is even a Facebook page named "Take Back Australia" with over 50,000 likes. One comment states that, "These refugees are not coming to Australia to integrate, they're coming to take over. Bloody wake up!!!".

This statement is incorrect. Australian refugees are giving back to the community. Go Anh Do, for example. He was a refugee coming to Australia in 1976, and is now one of Australia's most-loved comedians. His brother, Khoa Do, won Young Australian of the Year 2005.

So, personally, I think that Australia has a bigger refugee problem than America.

Thanks for reading.

P.S.: I have an essay about this stuff due next week. It's the same stuff as this. I think I passed.

 

That doesn't make a lot of sense... Think about the things that define America. Most of them were invented or adapted by Americans, and are therefore American.

I do also. I don't care for spanish. La Casa de Mi Padre (Name of a church near my school), and all that B.S. I don't care for corruption, as we see in Mexico and all the South American countries.

If I had red paint, and I added so much blue to it that it turned blue, I would have "destroyed" any red color in my paint, wouldn't I have?

Illegal Immigration and the Refugee Crisis are two completely different issues.

 

McDonalds, Taco Bell, Arby's, Pizza Hut: Started in America
Rock n Roll, Jazz, Rap, Pop music: Started in America
Muscle cars, Pickup trucks, Jeeps, Minivans: Started in America
Apple, Microsoft, Facebook, Google: Started in America
Hollywood, Disney, Broadway, Theme Parks: Started in America
Football, Baseball, Basketball, Volleyball: Started in America

Yea, our culture totally all comes from immigrants

 

You forgot Duct Tape...

 

america is a immagrant nation, and people always hate the latest wave, from italians to jewish children to currently mexicans and middle eastern people.

 

85% of Americans were born in America.

--- Double Post Merged, May 30, 2016, Original Post Date: May 30, 2016 ---

Of that 15% percent, almost 4% aren't actually Americans (illegal immigrants).

 

omg dude.

 

Yet most you can trace back to the influence of other cultures.
Sure, I can make my own pizza and say it's Fangified now, but the fact is that it is an adaptation of pizza. A borrowed pizza, if you will. Things can be American, but we are such a mingled nation, one of so many different cultures, that you cannot say we have a defining culture.

Spanish names =/= corruption. At all.

No. The red is still there.
Besides that, that is not an adequate analogy. Immigrants to the US dont come from a single "blue" place. They come from all over - mixing red with blue with white (heh) with black with orange with yellow with green to make a muddy brown mixture of cultures.

Good, you imply a good question: what does culture mean?
To me, literally none of that is culture. That list contains no ideologies, unifying characteristics that stand out from other places, nothing like that. Just a list of american things. Would you say that someone has a "Culture of trashcans" if their country invented the trashcan? No, because that doesnt define them in any way except yhat there was a demand and they filled it.

 

Here's the things, EVERYONE but the native Americans were immigrants to America, EVERYONE. The English, the French, the Portuguese to start, then Spain, Italy, Jewish ethnicity, and every group of immigrants has faced discrimination by the descendants of other immigrants.

 

I never said they did. But they are both common in the same cultures that are now making their way into our country.

But you can't see it. It's completely invisible. So it may as well not be.

Except they don't. A very small amount of them come from all over, compared to a huge amount from one culture (a couple of places, but the culture is much the same (not entirely), so it's more like having a muddy green.

Culture is the collection of traditions, ideologies, values, foods, music, art, sports, and pretty much everything else about a society or region.

Actually, native americans were immigrants too. They came from Asia.

 

I'm sorry, but if you told a German and an Italian that their culture is pretty much the same, they might just laugh in your face. The majority of American immigrants came from Europe during the 18 and 1900s. While you're right in that they came from a couple places, it is inaccurate to say they had the same culture at all. For example, (even previous to WWI/II), Germans remained separate from Poles who remained separate from Italian neighborhoods. It's why you have areas such as 'Chinatown' or seemingly random clusters of Italian restaurants in an area. The reason being, they stuck to their cultures. These mini-cultures eventually blended together a bit, but many places in America still retain that essence.
So, no, I disagree with you here.
Besides that, doesn't describing it as a muddy green follow my original point of

(quoting myself, as quoted by you, which is why it appears you said it)
That these immigrants' cultures fused to create - or rather, influence - the American way of life?

The vast majority of which, in American society, we have taken from other cultures, no? For everything that was listed there, I can name 10 other things that we use daily imported from other areas of the world.

According to M-W dictionary, cultures is
the beliefs, customs, arts, etc., of a particular society, group, place, or time
: a particular society that has its own beliefs, ways of life, art, etc.
: a way of thinking, behaving, or working that exists in a place or organization (such as a business)

Perhaps it is fair to say that American culture is the American dream, etc. But even that was thought of by immigrants, was it not?

//I'm mostly trying to type out my thoughts below, 'cause it's late. You can skip them if you want (I put //endskip at the end)
I guess, to put everything more clearly and succinctly, I do not believe America has a definable culture, simply because it is SUCH a melting pot (as opposed to areas such as China or Paris, where history and traditions define their culture quite more rigidly). I do also believe that no culture is completely stagnant: every new idea that is thought of, every legal/social change made impacts the culture of that nation.
Globalization seems to me, at least, to be the true essence of America. If you notice, the world has become increasingly globalized since the introduction of the Internet. With this exchange of cultures, traditions, ways of life, perspectives, and understandings, we (as America) are now not only able to be influenced by the world, but influence it much, much more heavily. Our way of life - ever changing, don't forget - is now a two-way street.
Back when immigrants came to the US, they brought culture. Very few in comparison emigrated back to the other parts of the world. This meant that culture went in, and very little new-mixed-culture came out. Now, it can come both in and out freely. I guess what I mean is that America might have been the transition from historically and traditionally based cultures to globalized cultures, the first melting pot of the world. Already, people are more educated about one another than ever before. But America doesn't seem to have a definable culture that is itself. Maybe obesity or indulgence, but that is applicable to the elite of the world for centuries.
//endskip
So, returning to my original point, according to this definition, the words that stand out to me here is "particular" and "own".
I propose that because
A. The vast majority of America's traditions, ideologies, values, etc. come from immigrants, quite recently
and B. America is so different, so democratic, and because we do not have a unifying characteristic (i.e. An Islamic country), nor a vastly overwhelming majority, (i really like those two words, it seems)
America's culture cannot be defined, or rather, it has not formed.

Why does it bother you, then, to have a Church name in another language? When you say "and all that B.S." it implies something more than just a simple name.
Also, may I ask, does a Greek restaurant having a Mediterranean name bother you? I surely dislike speaking Spanish (bad teachers, ugh), but I live in Texas, and see these things all the time. Perhaps I am used to it, but I don't understand why having a private building named in another language bothers you.

 

I think you misunderstood my post. What I was saying was that while some immigrants come from all over the world, most come from central and south America (and Mexico), and all those countries share cultures that are similar (less with traditions and more with language and corruption)

No. Some of the 'greatest' American values are punctuality and lines, both of which were created in the U.S. The Hamburger was completely an American invention. The Hotdog was a completely American invention. Baseball was supposedly a completely American invention. Basketball definitely was. Jazz and Rock and roll, and all the things mentioned previously.

No, not really. It was realized by Americans, for the most part, and drew immigrants in.

Look above.

I agree.

Not really... It is an important (and maybe undesirable) part of our economy though.

Yes.

People still don't leave all that much. The internet can't spread culture nearly as well as a large body of people moving can.

Again, look above.

The vast majority are very American in origin.

UNIQUELY AMERICAN HOLIDAYS

Eight other holidays are uniquely American (although some of them have counterparts in other nations). For most Americans, two of these stand out above the others as occasions to cherish national origins: Thanksgiving and the Fourth of July.

Thanksgiving Day is the fourth Thursday in November, but many Americans take a day of vacation on the following Friday to make a four-day weekend, during which they may travel long distances to visit family and friends. The holiday dates back to 1621, the year after the Puritans arrived in Massachusetts, determined to practice their dissenting religion without interference.

After a rough winter, in which about half of them died, they turned for help to neighboring Indians, who taught them how to plant corn and other crops. The next fall's bountiful harvest inspired the Pilgrims to give thanks by holding a feast. The Thanksgiving feast became a national tradition -- not only because so many other Americans have found prosperity but also because the Pilgrims' sacrifices for their freedom still captivate the imagination. To this day, Thanksgiving dinner almost always includes some of the foods served at the first feast: roast turkey, cranberry sauce, potatoes, pumpkin pie. Before the meal begins, families or friends usually pause to give thanks for their blessings, including the joy of being united for the occasion.

The Fourth of July, or Independence Day, honors the nation's birthday -- the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. It is a day of picnics and patriotic parades, a night of concerts and fireworks. The flying of the American flag (which also occurs on Memorial Day and other holidays) is widespread. On July 4, 1976, the 200th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence was marked by grand festivals across the nation.

Besides Thanksgiving and the Fourth of July, there are six other uniquely American holidays.

Martin Luther King Day: The Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., an African-American clergyman, is considered a great American because of his tireless efforts to win civil rights for all people through nonviolent means. Since his assassination in 1968, memorial services have marked his birthday on January 15. In 1986, that day was replaced by the third Monday of January, which was declared a national holiday.

Presidents' Day: Until the mid-1970s, the February 22 birthday of George Washington, hero of the Revolutionary War and first president of the United States, was a national holiday. In addition, the February 12 birthday of Abraham Lincoln, the president during the Civil War, was a holiday in most states. The two days have been joined, and the holiday has been expanded to embrace all past presidents. It is celebrated on the third Monday in February.

Memorial Day: Celebrated on the fourth Monday of May, this holiday honors the dead. Although it originated in the aftermath of the Civil War, it has become a day on which the dead of all wars, and the dead generally, are remembered in special programs held in cemeteries, churches, and other public meeting places.

Labor Day: The first Monday of September, this holiday honors the nation's working people, typically with parades. For most Americans it marks the end of the summer vacation season, and for many students the opening of the school year.

Columbus Day: On October 12, 1492, Italian navigator Christopher Columbus landed in the New World. Although most other nations of the Americas observe this holiday on October 12, in the United States it takes place on the second Monday in October.

Veterans Day: Originally called Armistice Day, this holiday was established to honor Americans who had served in World War I. It falls on November 11, the day when that war ended in 1918, but it now honors veterans of all wars in which the United States has fought. Veterans' organizations hold parades, and the president customarily places a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C.

Freedom, independence, etc.

Punctuality, equality, hard work

And almost all the sermons.

Yeah. All the the other stuff I have to put up with.

Not as long as I don't have to speak Greek to order there.

 

Native Americans visualized poor people getting rich and buying lots of land?

While recently, yes, historically, no. There's a reason the majority is Caucasian.

Great, but the exceptions were not what I was talking about. I was speaking about the vast majority, such as, take the first three things I thought of: spaghetti, pizza, and soccer.
Also, Jazz came from a blend of African and European roots. African rhythm, European harmony/instruments.

No, but I talk to people from China and Australia on a regular basis. Mom flies to Japan to do business with electronic corporations there. The economy is one step towards sharing cultures. In fact, the Indo-European trade began through economy, and eventually began to influence culture, which is how Christianity spread to India.

Again, vast majority, not specifics.
Though I did not mean holidays, but rather, more familial traditions, such as putting up Christmas trees or certain foods families eat.

Came from the immigrants wanting to free themselves from their oppressive governments restricting their religions. Looking at you, George!

That's kind of been a thing throughout, well, all of history.
Again, though, you can easily attribute this to the way America developed: after a period of steady incline in population, the tech age hit, and boom, hard work was the only way to climb the ladder (at least, it was told). Belief in opportunity is a truly immigrant belief, really.

So don't go there?

Like...

I'm asking if the name itself bothers you.