Because these days it seems the only thing people are adamant about sectioning themselves off into certain groups. The first word has become much, MUCH more important than the second.

The use of the hyphenation designation has become a vehicle to divide Americans, and thus should be eliminated. During an interview, actor Morgan Freeman objected to the interviewer's use of the term "black actor", insisting that he was simply an actor and the additional racial/ethnic designation was meaningless and unimportant. Similarly, if we all treat each other as Americans rather than a balkanized section of America or a group of Americans, it serves no purpose but to emphasize our differences rather that our common interests (certain unscrupulous politicians prey on those differences). I think we should try it and eliminate those artificial differences.

My point is that you need to pick a side. If you wish to be a mexican -American, you haven't chosen. New immigrants espessially from South of the border have no respect for our culture at all. They want it all for them and screw the rest of us. We must learn their language. We must accept their customs. BS!!!

Study history Peter, Columbus never came any where near the US. His discoveries were in the Carribean. Maybe you should ask who ate the Jamestown colony in 1608.

How many times have you been asked the question, "donde esta el bano". ??? I get it on a daily basis. You know what it even means???

In response to dasuit:You sort of avoided the whole issue of change and concentrated on making me look stupid about history. Good job! Maybe you should go into politics. Then we could change everything back to the way it was in the good ole days. Women could stay at home, barefoot and pregnant, (but not until they are 25 and have had an older white father figure counsel them on how to be a good wife and mother) and all the blacks could be slaves. Yeah!

In response to dasuit:Anyone who has been in Spanish 101 ought to know what it means. But, then again, US public schools were never that proficient at teaching foreign languages, were they? (Am eagerly awaiting Dasuit's American history jab).

What is it with Americans' hostility toward picking up a little bit of another language? I speak three languages and can get by in a fourth. My wife, who is American and about as Aryan poster child as you can get, speaks two and gets by in a third. But this is definitely not the norm. And I don't really understand why.

In September 1791, the French National Assembly granted Jews full citizenship, making France the first country in Europe to give them civil rights. The hope was that by removing all restrictions on employment and movement, Jews would stop acting like a separate nation and become French already. But it didn’t happen. .

In the end, it took an imperial decree, under which the Jewish area was brought under state control. Jews were obligated to take French names and had to apply annually for a license to do business. Not particularly enlightened, but effective.

In response to Peter: I didn't try to make you look stupid at all. You were able to do it yourself. And you think that I want women to be "bare foot and pregnant" and for "blacks to be slaves"??? could you be anymore ignorant???
If you and your wife can speak 300 different languages, more power to you. However, don't ever expect me to learn a language to make people that are to lazy to learn English feel comfortable.

In response to dasuit:If you think that all change brought about by adding new cultures to our system is bad, then yes, you must throw out the good with the bad. That's not ignorance -- it's making a point through exaggeration.

Who said anything about learning a second language because it's good for other people? It's good for you. You have more options at work -- plenty of Army units require second languages. Farsi is in especially high demand now. A second language translates into increased earnings in the private sector, as well. It's a skill not a concession.

To me, unwillingness to learn another language is sort of like saying you aren't going to learn about the metric system just to make Europeans that are too lazy to learn our system comfortable. Closing your eyes to knowledge isn't a good thing, no matter how you rationalize it.

In response to Peter: You really dont have a clue do you Peter? The USA has a distinct culture and your types want to destroy that. If I don't speak Spanish, I must be a racist against Mexicans. If I dont speak Farsi, I must not like Arabs or Persians. The problem with you and your types is that you want to destroy the greatest country that God gave this world, and people like me wont let you.

I agree. In America, everybody is comeing from somewhere! The first ones came on the Mayflower, so unless you are an indian native, you also came from somewhere else. The hyphen only tends to separate. If we are just all Americans, without hyphens, then probab ly we will be able to accept each other better, without bigotry, and recism would be a thing of the past.

In response to SallyDP:It seems like it should be so simple, but I wish it was that easy.

How many people are complaining about the Irish-Americans who just celebrated St. Patricks Day with parades and dying rivers green? They've had a lot longer to assimilate than the crowd that prefers Cinco de Mayo.

Let's retitle this debate to reflect what it really is: I DON'T LIKE POOR IMMIGRANTS WHO DON'T LOOK AND TALK LIKE ME.

In response to dasuit:While I admire your blind patriotism and national pride, I have to point out that's why so many foreigners hate Americans. I don't know of any other country where the people go around shouting, "We're No. 1." And guess, what? It's not because they think that the US holds ownership to that slot. It's because they realize that every country has good things and bad things about it. And that "greatest" is very subjective rather than a divine mandate.