OF THE
TIMES
America's cold civil war has created a crisis of identity. A nation with little common ground and no unifying traditions will struggle to hold together under the weight of mass immigration and multicultural dogma. Are we fated to fracture into enclaves, each clinging to its own customs while the republic itself dissolves?In 1984, when my parents were sworn in as American citizens, I distinctly remember their differing reactions: My father was thrilled to be counted as a citizen of the country that had taken us in, excited for the opportunity to participate in civic life and to enter into the peoplehood of America. My mother, on the other hand, was grateful for the security of citizenship, but cherished the freedom to continue on as an Iraqi.
In this essay, Iraq native Luma Simms shares her perspective as an immigrant with a clear sense of what constitutes American identity. She argues that mass immigration and multiculturalism have become a destructive feedback loop, one that weakens both newcomers and natives alike. Contending that American immigration must slow long enough to rebuild a thick cultural identity, Simms insists that only then will immigrants have a true nation to join.





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