"There is no room in this country for hyphenated Americanism." ??

Today was Theodore (Teddy) Roosevelt's birthday. My Quotes of the Day included this one. I understand what he is talking about -- the concept of the great melting pot. We aren't Irish-Americans, or German-Americans, or Black Americans, or Catholic Americans, or Jewish Americans, we are all Americans, and should think with that mind-set. It is a fairly idealistic vision.

The status quo in the United States is polarization. I can think of good times, and bad, when most Americans stood united, but most of the time, we see ourselves, what is good for us, our families, our neighbors. Our neighborhoods are often enclaves of similar people with like ideals and common interests, and in this time of elections, we frequently vote on single issues. Is this necessarily a bad thing? To focus on what is good for "our" world rather than what is good for the country as a whole? Maybe, but it frequently seems unavoidable.

Teddy Roosevelt believed in the United States as one country, whose citizens are all Americans, no hyphens allowed. I would argue that both extremes are bad. Polarization is divisive, loss of personal identity is de-humanizing. The U.S. needs to find a middle ground. A cohesive group where individuality is applauded and differences are accepted and respected. We need to think less about what will be good for us now, and what will be good for the United States tomorrow and in the future. In that way, we can keep our hyphens, and still be a strong and united country.