Loves The Sun
Editor: It’s been awhile since I read The Sun again, having taken a break. I want to say what a wonderful job you have done in recovering from the shifts and exodus of many key players, last summer was it …? Many key players seemed to have jumped ship and your paper suffered awhile.
I am delighted to see, again, really interesting articles and very good writing. The Sun has always covered what the I.T. might never carry. But you go beyond that station now, and I will be looking for The Sun once again as my source for Sonoma news.
You certainly prove that there is room for more than one paper in this “Cowboy Town.”
Thank you,
Joanie Bourg
Sonoma
Common ground is being lost here
Editor: Is America becoming “The Great Salad Bowl?” America has been known as “The Great Melting-Pot” for as long as I can remember. People from every corner of the globe combined as Americans to make our country great. They took advantage of opportunities that existed here that did not exist in their native lands — opportunities to reap the benefits of their own hard work, opportunities to worship God in their own way, opportunities to speak their minds freely, and opportunities to raise their families in peace and safety.
Peoples from England, Ireland, Germany, Italy, France, Syria, China, Japan, India and the many countries of Africa became a homogeneous mass that loved our country enough to honor her, to respect her, and to fight and die for her.
My own maternal grandfather, who came from Italy, insisted that English was the language his children spoke in his home. “After all,” he said, “English is the language of America and we are Americans.” The American flag was proudly displayed in front of his home at appropriate times. He never heard the Pledge of Allegiance recited that he did not recite it right along with the speaker. He never failed to remove his hat and place his hand over his heart when the American flag passed by in a parade and insisted that his children and grandchildren do the same. He loved his native land and never forgot her, but he loved the land he adopted and that adopted him even more.
What is happening now? Why does it appear that so many of the more recent immigrants refuse to be assimilated into the American culture? No one is insisting that newer immigrants forget their native lands or cultures; quite the contrary, we should celebrate the different cultures that go into the “Great Melting Pot.” All that is asked is that they pledge allegiance to the country they chose to emigrate to and become Americans first, just as the countless millions that came before them did.
The fact that we were a “Great Melting Pot” gave us the strength to endure because first and foremost, we were all Americans, each adding their own flavor to the blend in the pot.
Are we certain that changing from the “Great Melting Pot” to the “Great Salad Bowl” will result in the same magical and delicious blend of flavors, or might that change result in flavors that insist on maintaining their uniqueness to the point of spoiling the taste of the whole?
The important thing is that we each understand that our neighbor may have come from a different background, religion, culture, or country but he or she in an American . . . a brother or sister in arms when we are set upon, a friend and supporter in times of need, and someone you tell “Don’t worry, I’ve got your back” and mean it with all of your heart!
Robert M. Collingworth
Harrisville, NH