by Marion Garcia

Created on: December 16, 2009

Can't African-Americans, Hispanic-Americans, etc., just be called Americans?

The original thirteen colonies became a reality with the hard labor of many people of diverse nationalities. All of these people came together and called themselves settlers in a new world. They did not call themselves English-Americans or Danish-Americans. They were simply settlers from Europe starting a new life.

When the settlers fought England and Spain to break off their ties to them, these people became Americans. These people came to the new world to start a fresh new life. They hoped to leave all of the problems that incurred in their homelands behind and start again. Any and all off-springs from these people should be called Americans.

Our ancestors came here to leave their homelands behind. If their customs were that important, and their life in their home country was that good, they would have stayed there. Our whole society is a mixture of different customs. We have created our own customs and our own distinct heritage.

Is is now time for the people of the United States to stand up and act like they are proud to be Americans. We all should stop hiding behind our ancestral heritage and become what we really are, “Americans.”

Most of the people that use hyphenated nationalities have never been to those other countries. They have no idea what it is like to live in those countries. Thus, they have no right to use those terms.

Most people of these countries would not even consider you a part of their countries cultures if you were not born and raised there. This accounts for all countries. You call yourselves Italian-American or Polish-American but what part of Italy or Poland were you born in? Where did you live? The fact that your great-Grandfather was from Italy doesn't give you the right to use the term Italian before your nationality.

The government has told the Native Americans that if they do not live on the government reservations and do not have their names on the Indian census rolls, they can not call themselves Indian. Now, this taken into consideration, what do they call themselves? If they can't call themselves Indian, how can they be Native American? They are simply Americans.

Using this same theory, how can you call yourselves Polish-American if you do not and have never lived in Poland? So, why can't African-Americans and Hispanic-Americans simply be called Americans? It is simple, some big-wig, namely Jesse Jackson, decided they wanted people to

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