Until 1914 immigration was open in the United States; if you - TopicsExpress

Until 1914 immigration was open in the United States; if you entered the country you could stay and become an American. Why then is immigration not seen that way now? There are two major reasons: 1. Culture 2. The Welfare State Early immigration had as a main purpose the desire of people to become Americans. The idea of a melting pot created a systemic incentive for cohesion. People wanted to become Americans because America was perceived as a land of opportunity and liberty. People simply wanted to live in such context, full of possibilities to engage in productive and personally beneficial work. Later on, however, the insidious idea of multiculturalism rejected the need for social cohesion and even the existence of American exceptionalism. We substituted the melting pot for the Balkanizing effects of the salad bowl theory of America; where various cultures with features that at times were mutually antagonistic could live together. America was no longer the goal, America was the problem. Early on people just wanted the opportunity to work but now they seek the opportunity to join the ranks of the dependency-inducing welfare state. Even those who come to work can qualify for a number of welfare benefits that in many cases are better than a life of effort and engagement. The welfare state is not tied to effort but to alleged need; it feeds and grows on lack and economic weakness. In fact, the greater the lack, the greater the benefit! Coming from countries with minimal welfare states, where they could only work to sustain themselves (if they could find a job), most people come here to work. But once here they find out that work is only an option competing with the powerful and enticing lure of systems of dependency that appeal to the base features of the human heart. These systems sever the relationship between benefit and effort and, in that fashion, they contribute to the weakening of the human spirit and the increase on calls for greater benefits, more taxation on others and a society divided between effort and want. These are two powerful reasons why immigration was welcomed then but is threatening now.