Thursday, March 30, 2006
The Right of the People Peaceably to Assemble
My great grandparents Teal (grama Fortner’s parents) immigrated to this country in 1907 from England. The Fortner side, a mixed lot by now, originally came from Germany in the 1700’s. The Terrill side of my family goes back to the 1600’s and also came from England. The Porter side came from Ireland. You can also throw some Welsh in there for good measure. And if you go far enough back in the Taylor genealogy you find French and Spanish heritage.
I say all of this just to show that by rights I can justly wave the flag of any one of those nations and claim affinity.
Despite the fact that I am proud of my heritage,(as I think everyone ought to be) I am even more proud to be American.
Old Glory is the flag I fly.
It is under Old Glory and the constitution she represents that guarantees me the right to protest and to peaceably assemble in this country, not another flag.
I believe that those who assemble under another banner not of this nation do their cause a great disservice and in so doing show great disrespect for the flag and nation that allows them to do so.
I stand by the words of a great past president:
"In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant
who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to
us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is
an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or
birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person's becoming in
every facet an American, and nothing but an American...There can be no
divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something
else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the
American flag... We have room for but one language here, and that is the
English language... and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a
loyalty to the American people."
Theodore Roosevelt 1907
I say we continue to welcome all immigrants for we all were at one time, and be proud of our past heritage but let us be Americans now, first and foremost.
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6 comments:
Well said Scotty. Great post. I have found it dishearting to see all the Mexican flags being used in the demonstrations this week. Strange that this issue even needs to be debated. I am all about following the rules. I guess that's the black & white I get from mom.
Thanks Scott. Beautifully said. I feel the same way.
I agree 100%. The problem is that some will take this issue and not state it as clearly as you did and will therefore create a greater divide. President Hinckley's comments in the Priesthood session of General Conference last night about how we treat our fellowmen made it prety clear about where any member of this Church should stand on these issues. I believe there are many immigrants who have come to this country over the years and have done it "the right way." Whatever the results are of this debate, may we remember that we are all our Heavenly Father's chidren. As Bruce R. Mckonkie said, this country was founded for the ultimate purpose of restoring the Gospel for the blessing of all mankind.
Yes Bruce R's words could not be more correct.
And therein lies the seeds of another post.
very nice post, and very nice points Scott. The immigration question is getting bigger and bigger in these parts - it will be interesting to see what happens.
Scott thanks for the wonderful post. I agree all the way. I am thankful for my wonderful heritage and those who came to this country the legal way. I understand why they want to come we have so much and are so blessed with our freedoms. Probably half our ward out here is illegal and living in not so good conditions but it is better than their home lands.
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