Opponents of immigration often express disdain for the "Little Mexico" springing up in their neighborhoods. Legislation being considered in Congress also demands that all immigrants be assimilated into the "American culture" as soon as possible.
One hundred years ago, Henry James, the American writer, wrote of his distaste for Polish, Irish and Italian immigrant neighborhoods on the Lower East Side of New York. He saw immigrants as a threat to American culture.
I ask, "What is American culture"? How is it that the sales of salsa have overshadowed the annual American consumption of catsup? Everywhere you hear words that 10 years ago were unheard of in the American dialect — chipotle sauce, mango salsa, fajitas, cilantro. Even Napoleon Dynamite touched a national chord when he dined on quesadillas as he supported his friend Pedro for school office. Even my computer's spell-check recognizes the words "macho," "hombre" and "loco."
No, Henry James should not have feared. The descendants of the immigrants he witnessed are as American as anyone else. In time, the children of today's immigrants will seem as American as apple pie — or maybe a churro.
Maria Luisa Torres
Murray