My parents are from Ghana. They moved here in the ‘80s. I was born in the Bronx in 1990.
My parents knew multiple languages from Ghana, but they didn’t teach me any of them. I didn’t understand why until a few years ago when I finally asked.
Their answer: they wanted me to be as American as possible.
When they came to this country, there was actually a stigma against not speaking English. So they made a choice - they raised me in English only.
Would it be cool to be bilingual? Sure. But I appreciate their intention: to raise me as a member of this country, not an export from another.
Immigration is difficult to talk about because criticisms of immigration inevitably touch on identity. People hold their identity dearly. They’re sensitive to anything that feels like an attack on who they are.
That’s why I use the hardware vs. software distinction.
Cultures are software. And the beautiful thing about software is that anyone can update it. I believe anyone from any country can come to America and adopt American culture - but that adoption needs to be a requirement, not an option.
America is more than an economic zone. It’s a community.
Somalis, Mexicans, Venezuelans - none of them would want people moving to their countries and refusing to adopt their customs. America should be no different.
Here’s the uncomfortable reality: as amazing as America is, we cannot accommodate everyone who wants to come here. There are millions of people waiting in line for visas and green cards. Many will never get them.
So what’s the most rational way to decide who gets in?
Merit. And part of that merit is compatibility with American values.
Those values aren’t hard to define - they’ve been enshrined in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. But in the modern era, many people don’t seem love being American. They don’t seem to believe America is a place worth protecting, a place that should be difficult to get into.
There seems to be more concern for people who want to come here than for people who already live here.
We have to shift this narrative.
None of the countries immigrants are coming from would accept people who aren’t a net asset to their society. We should apply the same standard.
We can find solutions. But we can’t find them if every discussion gets shut down by accusations of racism, or if bad faith is assumed between the camps.
This video is my attempt to help end that.
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