Tomorrow is Saint Patrick’s Day, and like most Americans, regardless of ethnic ancestry, I plan on indulging in the not-actually-Irish feast of corned beef and cabbage. The corned beef thing was invented here by Irish immigrants who were influenced by their Eastern European neighbors. It is an example of a phenomenon called the Pizza Effect, “the process by which cultural exports are transformed and re-imported to their culture of origin.” It’s named after pizza, duh, and the fact that pizza was tweaked by Italian immigrants in America where it became popular and was then re-introduced into Italian culture where it is now accepted as Italian cuisine. In the case of our “Irish” dish, the real version was bacon and cabbage. But now that Ireland capitalizes on tourism from America, and Americans expect corned beef on St. Pat’s, you see corned beef popping up over there.
The popularity of St. Patrick’s Day and all things Irish in America is interesting when one considers that earlier in our nation’s history, the Irish were seen as a menace. Political parties like the Know Nothing Party ran on anti-immigrant platforms and businessmen posted “Irish Need Not Apply” signs. Americans were concerned that the Irish, particularly Irish Catholics, would corrupt our culture. Even in the 1850’s, that xenophobia was nothing new. Back in the late 1700’s, Benjamin Franklin was freaking out about German immigrants in our country. Fear of the Germans resurfaced in the mid-19th century and continued through WWI. At one point there were over 800 German language newspapers in our country and some people feared German would supplant English as our language.
This is laughable when one considers our founding fathers were immigrants and our nation’s success is due in large part to immigration. Each group ends up assimilating, learning English and making positive contributions to our society. Albert Einstein, Andrew Carnegie, I.M. Pei, Levi Strauss, Knute Rockne, Isaac Asimov, and Madeline Albright were all immigrants. I’m currently reading Let Them In: the Case for Open Borders by Jason L. Riley. In it, he explains the fallacious arguments against immigration. For example, immigrants do not actually take jobs away from Americans, but rather stimulate the economy. Take, for example, an immigrant engineer who can develop a better computer component. He actually creates jobs for American born workers because they will be the ones producing and marketing the new product. And for every immigrant who develops some great new thing for an American company, that’s one fewer genius developing for a competing foreign company.
I don’t want to get into all the arguments here. You can read the book or do some independent research if you’re interested. What I really want to talk about is the way anti-immigration attitudes demonstrate a flaw within our soul. I get particularly angry when I hear anti-immigrant sentiment from Christians who should know better. After all, the Bible instructs us in several passages to care for the foreigner. And even if it didn’t make that specification, there’s the whole “love your neighbor” and “love your enemy” thing and “there is no race or sex or social status” (paraphrasing Gal 3:28). For all the blather about jobs and culture, the truth behind most anti-immigrant attitudes is racism, lingo centrism, or religious bias. It is fear of “the other.” Yet history shows us that each group of “others” we let in, joins “us.” Where else but in America would a person say “I’m not Irish, but I’m celebrating St. Patrick’s Day, bring on the corned beef; I’m not Mexican, but I’m celebrating Cinco de Mayo, bring on the quesadillas; I’m not German, but I’m celebrating Oktoberfest, bring on the bratwurst; I’m not Chinese, but I’m celebrating Chinese New Year, bring on the lo mein; I’m not Christian, but I’m celebrating Easter, bring on the ham; I’m not a mathematician, but I’m celebrating Pi Day, bring on the pie!” To be American is to celebrate diversity (and gluttony, apparently).
When you think of America, the most iconic symbol that comes to mind is probably the Statue of Liberty. And what do we find inscribed there? “Send me your white English speakers, your mainline Protestants, your wealthy with nice teeth?” No, we find the lines “…give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!” For centuries we have been a destination for those who seek freedom and the chance for success through hard work and opportunity. For centuries immigrants have modeled the “American Dream” and proven nativist fears wrong. Our country was built by immigrants. To be anti-immigration is to be anti-American.
As you celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day (although much of our celebration actually just plays into stereotypes, but I’ll save that for another post), keep in mind the prejudice the Irish initially faced when they came to America. And the prejudice almost every group has endured at some point in our country’s history. Most of all, when the topic of immigration comes up in the news or at your next family dinner, it would behoove you to remember that unless you’re 100% Native American, your ancestors were immigrants too. Some people might think “well, this group is different,” but they’re not. Study your history.