Congratulations to Italy and all of her supporters on defeating France and winning the World Cup. As I ventured onto the streets yesterday, people were driving by with Italian flags. All across America, people took to the streets waving the Italian flag, holding up signs in Italian, and celebrating a soccer victory.
To me, this is America. Our flag symbolizes not only the liberal values enunciated in our Constitution and Bill of Rights but our flag encompasses the melting pot cultures of the planet.
To my knowledge, not one single person has complained that people should "go back to where they came from" or "go speak English" or "This is America, wave our flag only." Nor should they. People have a right to be proud of their heritage. There should be no complaints.
But what if a hundred Mexicans took to the streets after winning a soccer match with signs in Spanish waving the Mexican flag? We all know how the Conservatives would respond. And that is why much of the Republican agenda on immigration is simply racism in its ugliest of forms.