Soccer Dad

What citizenship entails

Colbert I King starts his Memorial Day column off in fine fashion

"Memorial Day Sale! Warehouse Is Stocked and Ready for Your Home"; "Memorial Day SALE plus EXTRA 15% OFF when you use your store card or pass"; "Memorial Day 1/2 Price Sale on Mattresses!"; "Memorial Day PIANO SALE"; "UNBELIEVABLE! STOREWIDE SAVINGS JUST IN TIME FOR THE HOLIDAY WEEKEND!"

-- Thursday newspaper ads

This cannot be what Maj. Gen. John A. Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, had in mind when he officially proclaimed Memorial Day on May 5, 1868. His thought, as best I can tell, was to set aside a day to honor the war dead. The true meaning of Memorial Day, however, has been overcome by door-buster sales, backyard cookouts and the opportunity to get a little extra sleep.

It got me to thinking that one thing that impresses people about Israel is that on Yom Hazikaron in Israel, everything stops

Yom Hazikaron, the Israeli Memorial Day, is different in its character and mood from the American Memorial Day. For 24 hours (from sunset to sunset) all places of public entertainment (theaters, cinemas, nightclubs, pubs, etc.) are closed. The most noticed feature of the day is the sound of siren that is heard throughout the country twice, during which the entire nation observes a two-minutes "standstill" of all traffic and daily activities. The first siren marks the beginning of Memorial Day at 8:00 P.M., and the second is at 11:00 A.M., before the public recitation of prayers in the military cemeteries. All radio and television stations broadcast programs portraying the lives and heroic deeds of fallen soldiers. Most of the broadcasting time is devoted to Israeli songs that convey the mood of the day.

And it got me to thinking that maybe America would benefit from something similar. King notes later on that a resolution toward that end has been passed

Lest we forget: Congress put a "National Moment of Remembrance" resolution ( http://www.remember.gov/ ) on the books in December 2000 in the hope that America would return to the true meaning of Memorial Day. The resolution asks that in an act of national unity, Americans at 3 p.m. local time "voluntarily and informally observe in their own way a Moment of remembrance and respect, pausing from whatever they are doing for a moment of silence or listening to 'Taps.' "

Part of citizenship is an acceptance of a common heritage. The melting pot that is America assimilates many heritages, but there needs to be a central American heritage to hold the country together. This is the glue of society.

Another element that holds a society or nation together is language. Richard Cohen thinks there's an inevitability that all Americans will eventually learn English. Though he doens't say so explicitly presumably he's objecting to making English a national language.

It's reasonable, I suppose, to insist on English-sufficiency for citizenship or even for a driver's license. But the nation's so-called political conversation can be conducted in any language -- just as long as it's conducted. The Jews, the Italians, the Chinese, the Russians, the Germans and all the other ethnic groups who once lived cheek by jowl in Manhattan had a vibrant press and raised the roof with their political conversation. Now their descendants rue, as I do, the virtual loss of a tongue. Henry Adams need not have feared. I can read him but not the contemporaries he so reviled.

But Jeff Jacoby disagrees

Instead of a national commitment to assimilation, a cynical multiculturalism sends the message that our culture is no better than any other, so there is no particular reason to embrace the American experience. ''Bilingual" education and foreign-language ballots accelerate the loss of a common English tongue, making it easier than ever for newcomers to cluster in linguistic ghettoes. Identity politics erodes the national identity, encouraging immigrants to see themselves first and foremost as members of racial or ethnic groups, and only secondarily as individuals and Americans.

Adopting the symbols of one's new nation need not mean supplanting or even superceding one's previous commitments - be they religious or national in nature. But the new symbols must be there. It's part of becoming a citizen.

Technorati tags: memorial day, Citizenship, Immigration.

Posted by SoccerDad at May 30, 2006 6:47 AM