Recently I gave a speech on the House floor about the Tzedek Association, a Jewish national organization, and their excellent work on getting refugees out of Afghanistan.
Letter: Assimilation can incorporate other cultures, races
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In his Feb. 5 column, Abdi Nor Iftin, supporting Maine’s increasingly diverse student population, said, “The schools should encourage multiculturalism and not assimilation.” He said assimilation involves expecting students to “abandon their cultural institutions and values and replace them with that of the majority.”
That happened, forcibly, to many Native American children many years ago. I doubt today’s Maine schools expect or require children to abandon their culture, nor should they.
My only experience with assimilation is as a third-generation Italian whose grandfather came here as a 12-year-old around 1900. My father, born here, spoke only Italian until he entered kindergarten at Portland’s old Presumpscot School. He learned English, graduated from Portland High School, fought in WWII and assimilated (which is easier when you pretty much look like the dominant caste).
we ought not be doing this expecting only republican votes. i think that both parties need to put skin in the game. i think we should do something that would get us half of our focus. they ought to do something that would get at least half of their caucus and move forward on this thing. let s do a big deal. let s show the american people that things can work. on that point before we go to break. i know that the republicans got to go back to the constituents. if they can get a bipartisan deal and everybody can put their hands on the hot stove, wouldn t america get behind that? i don t know about america. but i can tell you this, boehner splits his caucus like that, and he goes over there with half his folks to raise taxes, that is ball game for john boehner, i ll tell you. it s going to be a lot of republicans who can t go home again. congressman even if they balance the budget, raise the debt ceiling, and get the economy out of the