Page 12
E S S A Y S
By the Number
"Check out my new leggings. No more missed meals for me!"
Fig. 1.
e53
DINOSAURS of a FEATHER
FLAP TOGETHER
We tend to forget how truly mysterious the mechanism of evolution is, and how clunky, funky, and wildly erratic the whole business can be. The funny part to me, is how the process tends to do the most with the least. Evolution is the classic overachiever. When it finds something that works, meaning the chance for survival has improved, it likes to go hog wild, so to speak, and keep pushing the limits until whatever change took place is no longer viable or something even better comes along.
It's why we see such Hollywood-like creatures in the prehistoric record. When teeth came along, it was like, let's make the biggest teeth possible. When horns came along, let's make lots of them, lots of big ones. When physical size helped, it was time to get humongous sizewise. So on and so forth. The same was true when a favorable mutation caused a scale to be slightly like a feather.
We know that feathers evolved from reptilian scales. Why? Because a feather is sort of like a scale on steroids; it's lighter and offered buoyancy to animals who made a living chasing other animals. You were faster and lighter on your feet if you had some feathers instead of all scales. At the molecular and genetic level, both scales and feathers also share a lot in common. A lot. Feathery scales were just an ultra cool development that quickly became a game-changer in totally unexpected ways. From added warmth in winter, to brighter, fancier colors, to that one other fringe benefit nobody saw coming: flight.
Fast forward to when feathers made flying not only possible, but commonplace. Well, if you've got feathers on your arms, which were simply a pair of limbs, and they're working for you just fine, then let's add them to that other pair of limbs -- your legs. To not have feathered legs as well as arms would have been just plain dumb in evolutionary terms. And when you're flying (much like swimming) it comes natural almost to stroke with your arms and kick with your legs. Or if you were a dinosaur, flapping your feathery legs as well as your feathery arms was definitely the way to go -- literally.
So what happened to feathered legs? They're still around. Pigeon fanciers have bred feathery legs for years -- for show. But the genes were already there to work with. What happened in prehistoric times was that feather design got really, really good. And at some point, feathers on your legs were actually a drag on airspeed because the arms were now so efficient that aerodynamics and wind resistance trumped the extra "lift" you got from your legs. It's a little like why the Flying Wing airplane is superior to those with extra fins, rudders and so forth on the hind end. All you need is a really efficient wing and the power to move it. Or move air over and past it. It's also why reptile tails changed into a bunch of birdlike steering feathers only.
The appearance of feathers is probably one of evolution's greatest achievements, if not the single greatest. We don't think about it much, which is why I took the time to mention it.
It's why we see such Hollywood-like creatures in the prehistoric record. When teeth came along, it was like, let's make the biggest teeth possible. When horns came along, let's make lots of them, lots of big ones. When physical size helped, it was time to get humongous sizewise. So on and so forth. The same was true when a favorable mutation caused a scale to be slightly like a feather.
We know that feathers evolved from reptilian scales. Why? Because a feather is sort of like a scale on steroids; it's lighter and offered buoyancy to animals who made a living chasing other animals. You were faster and lighter on your feet if you had some feathers instead of all scales. At the molecular and genetic level, both scales and feathers also share a lot in common. A lot. Feathery scales were just an ultra cool development that quickly became a game-changer in totally unexpected ways. From added warmth in winter, to brighter, fancier colors, to that one other fringe benefit nobody saw coming: flight.
Fast forward to when feathers made flying not only possible, but commonplace. Well, if you've got feathers on your arms, which were simply a pair of limbs, and they're working for you just fine, then let's add them to that other pair of limbs -- your legs. To not have feathered legs as well as arms would have been just plain dumb in evolutionary terms. And when you're flying (much like swimming) it comes natural almost to stroke with your arms and kick with your legs. Or if you were a dinosaur, flapping your feathery legs as well as your feathery arms was definitely the way to go -- literally.
So what happened to feathered legs? They're still around. Pigeon fanciers have bred feathery legs for years -- for show. But the genes were already there to work with. What happened in prehistoric times was that feather design got really, really good. And at some point, feathers on your legs were actually a drag on airspeed because the arms were now so efficient that aerodynamics and wind resistance trumped the extra "lift" you got from your legs. It's a little like why the Flying Wing airplane is superior to those with extra fins, rudders and so forth on the hind end. All you need is a really efficient wing and the power to move it. Or move air over and past it. It's also why reptile tails changed into a bunch of birdlike steering feathers only.
The appearance of feathers is probably one of evolution's greatest achievements, if not the single greatest. We don't think about it much, which is why I took the time to mention it.
Credit: S. Abramowicz / The Dinosaur Institute
Fig. 2. "Roswell? Boy are we lost. Hey, what was that noise?"
|
Fig. 3. "If I follow their road, I won't have to ask for directions."
|
e54
CONFESSIONS of a UFO SKEPTIC
After 30 years, I am succumbing to the argument that certain sightings -- seen in the sky -- should be reported regardless of what we believe them to be, or not to be. My personal sighting was of an unexplainable, nighttime aerial phenomenon that took place in 1987, in San Juan Capistrano, California.
I lived in a large house at the time, not far from the ocean, and while sitting in the living room looking out a very large picture window that faced a sparsely lit, dark expanse of hills and custom homes, a streak of yellow light shot from somewhere overhead and angled downward, across the frame of view afforded by the window.
The “beam” of light was essentially a brilliant ribbon of considerable size, flat rather than vertical, utterly silent, that shot across the sky and ended with a sudden, but not particularly bright flash. Rather than the shower of sparks and arcing trails of debris that one would have expected from such a display, the event was more notable for its lack of detail or fancy after-effects.
The explosive spikes of light that radiated from the center of the explosion, if it was indeed an explosion at all, showed no signs of gravitational arcs, as if residual remnants were falling to earth. After viewing many modern videos of meteors, bolides, and returning space junk, the light event I witnessed bore no resemblance whatsoever to any of the aforementioned displays.
As an amateur astronomer, and a consummate skeptic of UFOs, I have always believed the phenomenon I witnessed to be some type of high-altitude bolide, a midair, exploding meteor with its own unique characteristics separate from more typical meteors and meteoritic strikes.
I further supposed that no two bolides should be identical in how they might appear to different observers, thus the lack on my part of any immediate need to report anything. Over the years, however, and especially now, it has grown apparent that such a sighting as I experienced, should be recorded regardless of how unimportant I may believe it to be, or not to be.
One last description of the seeming physicality of this “object” as it streaked across a very dark sky is the peculiar fact that, as said before, it possessed no detail. I mean this quite literally. The ribbon, as I call it, was entirely uniform in structure, in color, brightness and shape, with no irregularities as would be expected by a completely natural event. It was as if a stripe of solid yellow, similar to a painted highway lane marker, zoomed across my field of view, then came to an abrupt stop as it silently “popped” and faded into the darkness. It all happened very fast. The stripe also bore its own perspective, meaning I could tell that it was nearest when directly overhead, and that as it trailed off, grew more narrow, like train tracks leading off into the distance. Thus the object traveled some distance beyond my location before it seemingly exploded and disappeared.
This was the strangest phenomenon I have ever witnessed and has never been repeated. For what it’s worth, please add this odd little anecdotal tale to the pile, where it can find some meaning, perhaps, for those who truly care about such things.
I lived in a large house at the time, not far from the ocean, and while sitting in the living room looking out a very large picture window that faced a sparsely lit, dark expanse of hills and custom homes, a streak of yellow light shot from somewhere overhead and angled downward, across the frame of view afforded by the window.
The “beam” of light was essentially a brilliant ribbon of considerable size, flat rather than vertical, utterly silent, that shot across the sky and ended with a sudden, but not particularly bright flash. Rather than the shower of sparks and arcing trails of debris that one would have expected from such a display, the event was more notable for its lack of detail or fancy after-effects.
The explosive spikes of light that radiated from the center of the explosion, if it was indeed an explosion at all, showed no signs of gravitational arcs, as if residual remnants were falling to earth. After viewing many modern videos of meteors, bolides, and returning space junk, the light event I witnessed bore no resemblance whatsoever to any of the aforementioned displays.
As an amateur astronomer, and a consummate skeptic of UFOs, I have always believed the phenomenon I witnessed to be some type of high-altitude bolide, a midair, exploding meteor with its own unique characteristics separate from more typical meteors and meteoritic strikes.
I further supposed that no two bolides should be identical in how they might appear to different observers, thus the lack on my part of any immediate need to report anything. Over the years, however, and especially now, it has grown apparent that such a sighting as I experienced, should be recorded regardless of how unimportant I may believe it to be, or not to be.
One last description of the seeming physicality of this “object” as it streaked across a very dark sky is the peculiar fact that, as said before, it possessed no detail. I mean this quite literally. The ribbon, as I call it, was entirely uniform in structure, in color, brightness and shape, with no irregularities as would be expected by a completely natural event. It was as if a stripe of solid yellow, similar to a painted highway lane marker, zoomed across my field of view, then came to an abrupt stop as it silently “popped” and faded into the darkness. It all happened very fast. The stripe also bore its own perspective, meaning I could tell that it was nearest when directly overhead, and that as it trailed off, grew more narrow, like train tracks leading off into the distance. Thus the object traveled some distance beyond my location before it seemingly exploded and disappeared.
This was the strangest phenomenon I have ever witnessed and has never been repeated. For what it’s worth, please add this odd little anecdotal tale to the pile, where it can find some meaning, perhaps, for those who truly care about such things.
e55
LISTING NAMES of ORGANIZATIONS, GROUPS, and COMPANIES
I'D LIKE to WORK for or BELONG to. . . IF THEY EXISTED.
The INSTITUTE For THOUGHT & PERCEPTION
LEADERSHIP For EXAMPLE
KEYSTONE KORNERS
The IMAGINARIUM
The TORCHLIGHT GUILD
BEYOND INFINITY
The ENVISIONARIUM
THE ACADEMY Of INERTIA And MOMENTUM
The FOUNDATION For The STUDY Of CYCLIC PHENOMENA
SPECTACLES Sans LENSES
DREAMS INCORPORATED
EPIPHANIES INCORPORATED
VERDANTIA
FOREST RAIN
The ELIXIRS Of LUXOR
MINDGATE
SPECTRUMS Of AWARENESS
ESOTERICA OBSCURA
MAGICORPS
IMAGICORPS
INFINITIA
MILLENNIAL MILESTONES INC.
The MILLSTONE QUARRY
INQUIRIES UNLIMITED
MINDSTORM
STRUCK By ENLIGHTENING
The MINDSTORM CHRONICLES
The NOUMENASIUM
The MUSEUM Of NOUMENA
The NOUMENUSEUM Of UNNATURAL HISTORY
THE LENS & LOGIC WORKS
The DEPARTMENT Of MIRACLES
LEAD FEATHERS
FLIGHTS Of The FANCY KIND
MINDFLIGHT
CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE CRITICAL MIND
BEACON HOUSE OCEANIC
FIREFLIER
DAWNLIGHT
MOMENTUMS
IMAGINARIA
EPIPHANOMICON
SPECTRANOMICON
HAPPENSTANCIA
MYSTERIUM
SANCTUMENTIA
DIMENSIONOPOLIS
Send me the name of an imaginary place
where you'd enjoy working -- or playing.
LEADERSHIP For EXAMPLE
KEYSTONE KORNERS
The IMAGINARIUM
The TORCHLIGHT GUILD
BEYOND INFINITY
The ENVISIONARIUM
THE ACADEMY Of INERTIA And MOMENTUM
The FOUNDATION For The STUDY Of CYCLIC PHENOMENA
SPECTACLES Sans LENSES
DREAMS INCORPORATED
EPIPHANIES INCORPORATED
VERDANTIA
FOREST RAIN
The ELIXIRS Of LUXOR
MINDGATE
SPECTRUMS Of AWARENESS
ESOTERICA OBSCURA
MAGICORPS
IMAGICORPS
INFINITIA
MILLENNIAL MILESTONES INC.
The MILLSTONE QUARRY
INQUIRIES UNLIMITED
MINDSTORM
STRUCK By ENLIGHTENING
The MINDSTORM CHRONICLES
The NOUMENASIUM
The MUSEUM Of NOUMENA
The NOUMENUSEUM Of UNNATURAL HISTORY
THE LENS & LOGIC WORKS
The DEPARTMENT Of MIRACLES
LEAD FEATHERS
FLIGHTS Of The FANCY KIND
MINDFLIGHT
CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE CRITICAL MIND
BEACON HOUSE OCEANIC
FIREFLIER
DAWNLIGHT
MOMENTUMS
IMAGINARIA
EPIPHANOMICON
SPECTRANOMICON
HAPPENSTANCIA
MYSTERIUM
SANCTUMENTIA
DIMENSIONOPOLIS
Send me the name of an imaginary place
where you'd enjoy working -- or playing.
e56
ICH BIN EIN AMERIKANER
On the 26th of June, 1963, then president, John F. Kennedy, while visiting West Berlin, gave his famous speech during which he proclaimed to the world, “Ich bin ein Berliner.” (I am a Berliner). Greeted with enthusiasm by his German audience, Kennedy’s words were meant to express American unity and solidarity with our European allies, all of whom remained locked in a “cold-war” struggle with the Soviet Union. The idea was that Americans were, in effect, citizens of Germany (or the European community) when it came to common goals, shared ambitions, and mutual enemies.
It is important to note that the president did not say, “Ich bin ein Amerikaner.” Such a statement would have implied that America’s role was to save Europe from its communist foes, rather than assist it as an equal, peer-level partner. A status by which the whole of the threatened western world stood to gain or lose in equivalent fashion. In this sense, the German people were as much Amerikaners as was Kennedy a Berliner.
Though not a perfect comparison, the notion holds relatively true that immigrants to another country, who wish to make that nation their permanent home, must confront the same obstacles and strive for benefits similar to those which face any native-born citizen.
Although the U.S. does not recognize dual citizenship, so-called multi-culturalism has become commonplace in contemporary America, where immigrants who are free to practice all manner of customs and traditions, are encouraged to assimilate into American culture, to become citizens, to vote and participate in the ways of life that are unique to this country. And in so doing, enrich both themselves and the nation as a whole.
Problems arise when foreign culturalism, including religious beliefs, is perceived, maintained, and taught as being superior in most if not all respects, to the culture of the country in which one has chosen to reside. Such restrictive thinking and teachings inevitably result in isolationism in one form or another, a lack of assimilation, antagonism, paranoia, suspicions and resentments, both warranted and unwarranted.
In America, Muslim immigrants and citizens who wish to live under Islamic Sharia law are welcome to do so. The Republic enjoys and encourages freedom of religion in all its varied forms. But our country is also a nation of laws, a land built upon and sustained by laws, largely secular in nature. Such principles are even referred to as “laws of the land”. Confusion arises and quickly escalates to potentially dangerous levels of hostility when disagreements exist as to issues of priority and preeminence. When religious law is at odds with civil, social law -- whether state or federal -- one side must then concede, must compromise and grant precedence to the other.
In America this has never been, nor should it ever be, a negotiable piece of business. American laws simply and absolutely, trump all others. And in matters of dispute where confusion clouds an otherwise clear-cut solution, these same laws and systems of laws already in place, would logically be used to mediate and remedy all complaints. The guiding principle in most such cases, however, would always be the inherent and accepted precedence of U.S. state and federal laws over the laws of any foreign country -- at least within the sovereign borders of the United States.
Anyone, be they Muslim, Catholic, Hindu, Buddhist, or of any other religious faith, who disagrees with the rules of American laws, namely that such principles and regulations may, under certain conditions, take absolute primacy over specific customs or rituals not American in their origin, should consider moving to, and living in, another country.
Put another way, whether immigrants are just visiting temporarily or with the intention of permanent residence, one’s mere presence in America is predicated upon the presumed adherence to all local, state, and federal laws. This is true, of course, for all citizens as well. And in all cases of violations of said laws, where citations are issued or arrests are made, one is subject, if convicted, to the appropriate, uniquely American penalties involved. Further that all such adjudications and penalties precede and preempt any similar judgments or punishments prescribed by a cultural mandate that is not of American origin.
While freedom of speech is granted to everyone, anyone who openly promotes, teaches, or encourages others that cultural or religious laws -- of foreign origin -- should have prima facie value over one or more applicable American laws, should be considered radical, anti-social misfits, labeled as such, and recommended for deportation to their native land. Likewise anyone or any group who refuses to acknowledge and abide by the fact that American laws claim preeminent jurisdiction in all applicable matters both domestic and civil, shall also be subject to enhanced scrutiny by the appropriate authorities, and also face possible deportation.
Places of religious worship, whether mosques, churches, synagogues, temples or the like, enjoy special privileges of privacy not otherwise granted to other -- secular -- gathering locations, buildings, or other meeting places. Abuse of such privileges are especially egregious when a particular institution, organization, or physical place of worship has demonstrated a willful defiance or violation of an applicable state or federal law. So-called “sanctuaries” and “sanctuary cities” should be regarded as criminal enterprises and penalized accordingly.
Based upon the foregoing explanations and inalienable truths, the following recommendations are presented as the minimally acceptable behaviors, conduct, and courtesies that all immigrants, whether temporary or permanent, should consider as obligatory in nature. The chief purpose of the following stipulations is to seriously encourage anyone who comes here from a foreign land, to give thought and voice to the words, “Ich bin ein Amerikaner.”
01. All immigrants should attempt to adapt and assimilate into American culture. As a bare minimum, each should agree to the following:
a. Obey all applicable local, state, and federal laws.
b. Agree to allow all applicable American laws to preempt and supersede all non-American cultural, uniquely ethnic customs, traditions, and rituals, but only in those cases where the same either conflict with, or violate said American laws.
02. Americans are weary of worrying about whether we are unintentionally or accidentally offending some individual immigrant, or his or her specific culture. Since the worldwide terrorist attacks in recent years, the majority of Americans have experienced a surge in patriotism. This attitude should be welcomed and embraced by all legal immigrants to America.
03. American culture has been developed over two centuries of internal trials and struggles, wars both foreign and domestic, and military victories won by millions of brave men and women who have sought freedom for families of men and women yet unborn. These sacrifices have value and meaning; they define both the country and the reason why assimilation of its culture is important.
04. In America, we speak mainly English, our official language, while Spanish, Lebanese, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, and every other language represents a second, recreational education whose relevance is strictly of a personal nature. For all those who wish to become a meaningful, respected member of American society, learning the language of the land should be considered absolutely essential.
05. Most Americans believe in a Judeo/Christian God. America is not, however, governed by a Christian and/or Zionist, federally enforced, liberal or conservative religious faith. Rather it is a nation of well established principles and laws founded to a large extent, by Christian men and women who created an American culture built on many Judeo/Christian principles, but whose judicial system is largely secular in nature.
06. The religious history of America is clearly documented and is inseparable from its structural fabric. Without doubt or debate, it should be entirely appropriate to display various artifacts of this history in schools, libraries and elsewhere in the public arena. Our Christian heritage is as much a part of the Republic as any painting of George Washington or written address by Abraham Lincoln. In America, the acknowledgement of God as Creator is part of our world and integral to our culture. An atheist who is a patriot, loves his country all the more, given its richness of beliefs, let alone the freedom to disbelieve.
07. In America, we readily accept the religious beliefs of others. Even their lack of beliefs. Regardless of the specific tenets and number of books in your Bible, Americans live and let live. We worship and let worship. If you can do the same, absent judgment or prejudice, minus the insidious notion that one truth can nullify all others, then all are welcome to live in harmony, enjoy and prosper from the peace that only total tolerance can deliver.
08. America belongs to everyone who recognizes it as their country. For immigrants, whether naturalized or not, it can be their country as well, but with conditions. Every opportunity one might imagine, every potential possible, is available to those who settle in this great land. Mutual respect and a willingness to work towards self-reliance are the only prerequisites for success.
09. Likewise, the time has also come for the complainers, the whiners, those who gripe about our flags, our pledges, our reliance on the virtue of faith, our way of life in general, should avail themselves of one of the great American freedoms: The right to leave.
10. It’s an old saying, but if one isn’t happy here, they should just go elsewhere. Especially back to where they came from originally; they speak your language there and will be glad to hear how horrible it is in America. If you asked to live here and no one forced you to come, try accepting and understanding the place to which (at one time) you were so eager to flee.
11. Unlike the German city of Berlin during the sixties, the only walls obstructing your flight to freedom and happiness are self-imposed. Barriers of intolerance are bashed asunder by nothing more than the desire and willingness to do so. And by the courage to live among a like-minded populace of countless, kindred others and declare, “Ich bin ein Amerikaner.”
It is important to note that the president did not say, “Ich bin ein Amerikaner.” Such a statement would have implied that America’s role was to save Europe from its communist foes, rather than assist it as an equal, peer-level partner. A status by which the whole of the threatened western world stood to gain or lose in equivalent fashion. In this sense, the German people were as much Amerikaners as was Kennedy a Berliner.
Though not a perfect comparison, the notion holds relatively true that immigrants to another country, who wish to make that nation their permanent home, must confront the same obstacles and strive for benefits similar to those which face any native-born citizen.
Although the U.S. does not recognize dual citizenship, so-called multi-culturalism has become commonplace in contemporary America, where immigrants who are free to practice all manner of customs and traditions, are encouraged to assimilate into American culture, to become citizens, to vote and participate in the ways of life that are unique to this country. And in so doing, enrich both themselves and the nation as a whole.
Problems arise when foreign culturalism, including religious beliefs, is perceived, maintained, and taught as being superior in most if not all respects, to the culture of the country in which one has chosen to reside. Such restrictive thinking and teachings inevitably result in isolationism in one form or another, a lack of assimilation, antagonism, paranoia, suspicions and resentments, both warranted and unwarranted.
In America, Muslim immigrants and citizens who wish to live under Islamic Sharia law are welcome to do so. The Republic enjoys and encourages freedom of religion in all its varied forms. But our country is also a nation of laws, a land built upon and sustained by laws, largely secular in nature. Such principles are even referred to as “laws of the land”. Confusion arises and quickly escalates to potentially dangerous levels of hostility when disagreements exist as to issues of priority and preeminence. When religious law is at odds with civil, social law -- whether state or federal -- one side must then concede, must compromise and grant precedence to the other.
In America this has never been, nor should it ever be, a negotiable piece of business. American laws simply and absolutely, trump all others. And in matters of dispute where confusion clouds an otherwise clear-cut solution, these same laws and systems of laws already in place, would logically be used to mediate and remedy all complaints. The guiding principle in most such cases, however, would always be the inherent and accepted precedence of U.S. state and federal laws over the laws of any foreign country -- at least within the sovereign borders of the United States.
Anyone, be they Muslim, Catholic, Hindu, Buddhist, or of any other religious faith, who disagrees with the rules of American laws, namely that such principles and regulations may, under certain conditions, take absolute primacy over specific customs or rituals not American in their origin, should consider moving to, and living in, another country.
Put another way, whether immigrants are just visiting temporarily or with the intention of permanent residence, one’s mere presence in America is predicated upon the presumed adherence to all local, state, and federal laws. This is true, of course, for all citizens as well. And in all cases of violations of said laws, where citations are issued or arrests are made, one is subject, if convicted, to the appropriate, uniquely American penalties involved. Further that all such adjudications and penalties precede and preempt any similar judgments or punishments prescribed by a cultural mandate that is not of American origin.
While freedom of speech is granted to everyone, anyone who openly promotes, teaches, or encourages others that cultural or religious laws -- of foreign origin -- should have prima facie value over one or more applicable American laws, should be considered radical, anti-social misfits, labeled as such, and recommended for deportation to their native land. Likewise anyone or any group who refuses to acknowledge and abide by the fact that American laws claim preeminent jurisdiction in all applicable matters both domestic and civil, shall also be subject to enhanced scrutiny by the appropriate authorities, and also face possible deportation.
Places of religious worship, whether mosques, churches, synagogues, temples or the like, enjoy special privileges of privacy not otherwise granted to other -- secular -- gathering locations, buildings, or other meeting places. Abuse of such privileges are especially egregious when a particular institution, organization, or physical place of worship has demonstrated a willful defiance or violation of an applicable state or federal law. So-called “sanctuaries” and “sanctuary cities” should be regarded as criminal enterprises and penalized accordingly.
Based upon the foregoing explanations and inalienable truths, the following recommendations are presented as the minimally acceptable behaviors, conduct, and courtesies that all immigrants, whether temporary or permanent, should consider as obligatory in nature. The chief purpose of the following stipulations is to seriously encourage anyone who comes here from a foreign land, to give thought and voice to the words, “Ich bin ein Amerikaner.”
01. All immigrants should attempt to adapt and assimilate into American culture. As a bare minimum, each should agree to the following:
a. Obey all applicable local, state, and federal laws.
b. Agree to allow all applicable American laws to preempt and supersede all non-American cultural, uniquely ethnic customs, traditions, and rituals, but only in those cases where the same either conflict with, or violate said American laws.
02. Americans are weary of worrying about whether we are unintentionally or accidentally offending some individual immigrant, or his or her specific culture. Since the worldwide terrorist attacks in recent years, the majority of Americans have experienced a surge in patriotism. This attitude should be welcomed and embraced by all legal immigrants to America.
03. American culture has been developed over two centuries of internal trials and struggles, wars both foreign and domestic, and military victories won by millions of brave men and women who have sought freedom for families of men and women yet unborn. These sacrifices have value and meaning; they define both the country and the reason why assimilation of its culture is important.
04. In America, we speak mainly English, our official language, while Spanish, Lebanese, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, and every other language represents a second, recreational education whose relevance is strictly of a personal nature. For all those who wish to become a meaningful, respected member of American society, learning the language of the land should be considered absolutely essential.
05. Most Americans believe in a Judeo/Christian God. America is not, however, governed by a Christian and/or Zionist, federally enforced, liberal or conservative religious faith. Rather it is a nation of well established principles and laws founded to a large extent, by Christian men and women who created an American culture built on many Judeo/Christian principles, but whose judicial system is largely secular in nature.
06. The religious history of America is clearly documented and is inseparable from its structural fabric. Without doubt or debate, it should be entirely appropriate to display various artifacts of this history in schools, libraries and elsewhere in the public arena. Our Christian heritage is as much a part of the Republic as any painting of George Washington or written address by Abraham Lincoln. In America, the acknowledgement of God as Creator is part of our world and integral to our culture. An atheist who is a patriot, loves his country all the more, given its richness of beliefs, let alone the freedom to disbelieve.
07. In America, we readily accept the religious beliefs of others. Even their lack of beliefs. Regardless of the specific tenets and number of books in your Bible, Americans live and let live. We worship and let worship. If you can do the same, absent judgment or prejudice, minus the insidious notion that one truth can nullify all others, then all are welcome to live in harmony, enjoy and prosper from the peace that only total tolerance can deliver.
08. America belongs to everyone who recognizes it as their country. For immigrants, whether naturalized or not, it can be their country as well, but with conditions. Every opportunity one might imagine, every potential possible, is available to those who settle in this great land. Mutual respect and a willingness to work towards self-reliance are the only prerequisites for success.
09. Likewise, the time has also come for the complainers, the whiners, those who gripe about our flags, our pledges, our reliance on the virtue of faith, our way of life in general, should avail themselves of one of the great American freedoms: The right to leave.
10. It’s an old saying, but if one isn’t happy here, they should just go elsewhere. Especially back to where they came from originally; they speak your language there and will be glad to hear how horrible it is in America. If you asked to live here and no one forced you to come, try accepting and understanding the place to which (at one time) you were so eager to flee.
11. Unlike the German city of Berlin during the sixties, the only walls obstructing your flight to freedom and happiness are self-imposed. Barriers of intolerance are bashed asunder by nothing more than the desire and willingness to do so. And by the courage to live among a like-minded populace of countless, kindred others and declare, “Ich bin ein Amerikaner.”
Fig. 4.
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