There are no Hyphenated Americans

American All Call  

There are no Hyphenated Americans

By Sam Frescoe, Veteran’s Recall

samfrescoe@gmail.com

http://veterans-recall.blogspot.com/

Do you know any hyphenated Americans?

According to the online Oxford dictionaries, the term Hyphenated American refers to an American citizen who can trace their ancestry to another, specified part of the world, such as an African American or an Irish American (so called because terms like African American are often written with a hyphen).

The first entry in the Urban Dictionary (not on par with the Oxford or Webster dictionaries) suggests the following: _____-American: Fill in the blank with whatever race you choose (except white).

Perhaps you have a definition of your own. As for me, I can say with confidence that I don’t know any hyphenated Americans. That is not to say that I don’t know anyone at all. Quite the contrary, I do know great Americans, heroic Americans, and everyday Americans. I also know people that aren’t Americans. There is no such thing as a hyphenated American. You are an American or you are not.

Unity is an American value. – List of American Values

I find it interesting that the concept of hyphenated Americans is squarely laid upon racial lines. Think about it. Have you ever heard of a Blond-American, a Male-American, or a Young-American? Me neither. If unity is an American core value, then the concept of hyphenated Americans is inappropriate and un-American. What do others think?

“I’m tired of hyphenated Americans. We’re not Indian-Americans or African-Americans or Asian-Americans. We’re all Americans.” – Bobby Jindal, Governor of Louisiana

“We are Americans, and we should get used to calling ourselves that.” – Aki Kurose

“We are being represented by men who are kowtowing to minorities where they can get votes, and I think it’s bad for our country and I am sad to see minorities make so much of themselves as a hyphenated American.” – John Wayne, 1976

 “There is no room in this country for hyphenated Americanism.” – Teddy Roosevelt, President

“Any man who carries a hyphen about with him carries a dagger that he is ready to plunge into the vitals of this Republic whenever he gets ready." – Woodrow Wilson, President

“The name of American, which belongs to you, in your national capacity, must always exalt the just pride of Patriotism, more than any appellation derived from local discrimination.” – George Washington

There are others that feel differently.

“Call me overly prideful but I strongly prefer the term Asian-American because just saying ‘American’ the way my co-worker did is a tad disrespectful of my family's heritage and our origins and how they shape us today”. – Reader of Psychology Today

What do you think?
Regardless of where you find yourself along the spectrum, there is at least one thing that we all have in common. We are more than red, white or blue. We are all Americans.

 

Open Question

Who told us about hyphenated Americans in the first place?