Monday, March 13th, 2017 @ 12:00PM

It’s one of the liberal national media’s most beloved and oft repeated phrases – “We are a nation of immigrants.”

Well, sorry to let the cat out of the bag but, actually, no we’re not. We are a nation of Americans. Of course, it’s true there are a lot of first-generation immigrants here, however, don’t be fooled by repetitive liberal rhetoric designed to indoctrinate you into their way of thinking – the number of bona fide, non-immigrant Americans far exceeds the number of those newly arrived on our shores.

To test my point, perform a little experiment – first of all, think about yourself and your own family and ask yourself these simple questions: “Was I born here?” If the answer is “Yes,” then you’re not an immigrant. Next, ask: “Were my parents born here?” If the answer to that question is also “Yes,” then your parents aren’t immigrants either. For me, I can ask that question sequentially of my ancestors with the answer being “Yes” at least eight times which is as far back as my family has ancestry records. The point is that I’m not an immigrant, nor are my parents, nor my grandparents, nor my great-grandparents, nor my great-great-grandparents, nor, well, you get the picture.

Now, to further test my point, consider your friends and co-workers – were they born here? Chances are the answer is “Yes.” And chances are their parents were born here as were their grandparents as were their great-grandparents as were, well, again, you get the picture.

In fact, the total number of true first-generation immigrants in America today isn’t even close to the total number of bona fide, non-immigrant, multi-generational Americans living in this country. So why does the liberal media persist in attempting to convince us that we are a “nation of immigrants?” Lots of reasons.

The most important reason is political – the Democratic Party holds itself out to be the “party of the immigrant.” Stories of Tammany Hall operatives standing on the docks of New York harbor in the 1800s and early 1900s encouraging, and even coercing, Irish-immigrants as they exited the boats to “vote democratic” are legendary. Immigrants have long served as a source of new voters for the Democratic Party. The liberal Left, long the mouth-piece of the Democratic Party, continues to promote the “party of the immigrant” notion through its pro-immigrant rhetoric. But truth is, the Democratic Party doesn’t so much love immigrants as it loves their votes.

Another lesser reason for the liberal Left’s persistent pet phrase is political correctness – in stating openly and repeatedly that we are a “nation of immigrants,” the Left is attempting to create a sense of acceptance of immigrants (especially illegal ones), thus diffusing many of the practical issues concerning immigration including, most importantly, illegal immigration. By repeating the phrase over and over and over, the Left is attempting, through the power of suggestion and conditioning, to induce the average American to over-identify with immigrants, thus becoming lulled into a sense of complacency about immigration issues.

Now, it’s important for the reader to understand that I am not a xenophobe – I don’t have anything personally against any “legal” immigrant. For those immigrants who come to this country legally, work hard, and play by America’s rules, I say, “Good luck and more power to you.” It’s also important for the reader to understand, however, that I believe “illegal” immigration in this country is more than just a problem, it’s an outright calamity. Further, because I’ve long dismissed “political correctness” as a bogus liberal ideological construct, I’ve never been afraid to recognize illegal immigration for what it is – a dangerous influence in our society.

Of course, those of a liberal mindset would attempt to dismiss my views on immigration issues as unfounded except, of course, for the fact that I understand immigrants and immigration better than most – you see, there were and are first-generation immigrants in my own family. Though he died tragically in a motorcycle accident in 1981, a former brother-in-law of mine was born in Mexico, given up for adoption, and raised in the United States. Before his death, he and my middle sister had three children – he was a favorite of my family, adored then and missed now. I have another brother-in-law, alive and well, who immigrated to America from Pakistan in the early 1980s. He and my youngest sister married not long after his arrival and they also have three children. He, too, has been a favorite of my family for many, many years.

The difference, of course, is that my brothers-in-law played/play by the rules – they were/are proud of their heritage but were/are more proud of being Americans. They came here legally, embraced American values, worked hard, and didn’t wear their immigrant status on their sleeves, waving it as a banner under the noses of those Americans like me and most of you who were born here.

So, the next time you hear someone on the Left attempt to indoctrinate you by saying, “We are a nation of immigrants,” say to yourself and those around you, “Hardly,” and recognize the truth that, even though there are many immigrants here, we are actually a “nation of Americans.”

Posted by Spencer Price
Categories: Latest Columns