Time to Eliminate the Hyphen
A quote attributed to Teddy Roosevelt has been making the internet rounds over the past several weeks. It is provided below. Before printing it here, I researched it. He actually did write this on January 3, 1919, three days before his death, to the President of the American Defense Society. Americanization was a favorite theme of his after his Presidency. I like the quote because it is right on point to the most dangerous threat this country has faced from within for a long time. My wife was born and raised in a little town outside of Mansfield, Ohio. When she first came with me to Youngstown to live, she was continually asked "What are you?" She always replied "an American." When pressed, she would add "from Mansfield." It took her awhile to realize that Youngstown locals wanted to know her ethnic extraction. (It is German, English, Irish, Welsh, with a touch of American Indian. Anyone want to open a Casino?) All four of my grandparents were from Italy.