Rubio & Haley: 2 of the millions we should fear

By Linda Schrock Taylor

Marco Rubio and Nikki Haley present themselves as real Americans with genuine smiles and honorable motives. They say that they love and understand America, and they may, as much as most First Generation Americans are capable of doing.

For a true appreciation of America to develop, First Generation Americans (FGAs) must grow up in families and a culture where a sincere love of and lessons about America and its values are clearly defined and expressed throughout years and decades, just as they were for FGAs during previous eras in this nation. Earlier FGAs attended schools and grew up in closely knit families, neighborhoods and communities where respect for this country was constantly shown and expressed: by citizens in patriotic parades, by bands playing patriotic songs, by schools conducting patriotic programs, by teachers proudly giving lessons in American history, citizen rights, societal values and American geography. Families and churches expressed the benefits and joys of living in the Land of the Free. A deep love for America was bred into the bones and ingested with every meal. The rightness of America was explained in books, sermons and discussions and was witnessed by all Americans, immigrant and native, birth through death.

However, in this modern, busy, compromised America, most of our young FGAs, with Nikki Haley and Marco Rubio serving as two frightening public examples, receive only an instructional smattering of "America is good" education. Today's schools relegate the teaching of patriotism to a few, brief, content-lite classes, when it is taught at all. Marco and Nikki believe that they know about, understand and love America, but they know and feel so little compared to what they would have learned and the respect that they would have developed had they grown up in earlier times. They are but poor imitations of true citizens of this fine nation. If Nikki and Marco actually understood and valued America, they would not make the inappropriate decisions they do; they would not cause such grievous and permanent harm to our country.

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Had Nikki truly understood American history, the American people and especially Southerners, she never would have impetuously ordered the removal of the Confederate flag. An older and wiser leader would have instinctively known that the empty gesture would have been misinterpreted. Gov. Haley's unwise decision was used as permission to begin the negation and destruction of any part of America's past that might, justly or unjustly, be blamed for any slight – real, false, misinterpreted, or misreported. Claimants can now object to: flags, monuments, mementos, documents, textbooks, places, graves, statues, names of buildings and even the freedom of speech. Everything can now be discounted, damaged, removed, or destroyed. Nikki Haley's shortsightedness and lack of American-ness has been devastating to the historical record and to the First Amendment.

This revenge on history will continue unabated. Haley's foolish and untimely action has caused irreparable harm to America. She believed that she was acting as a kind, knowledgeable American, but she only contemplated her decision at the veneer depth of an FGA.

Marco Rubio's big smile might fool most people, until he childishly berates others for typos we all make; until he promises one thing in Spanish to Spanish speakers, the opposite in English to English speakers; until he lies about people before cameras, then squirms in public when confronted; until he secretly meets to plot theft of American jobs, then lies when exposed. Marco is far more frightening than Nikki. She does seem an honorable but just undeveloped young FGA. Rubio, however, seems both willing and eager to sell out America to the highest bidder: "One Country for Sale! Open Borders. Visas. Votes!" It should earn him arrest for treason, not support for a presidential candidacy. Marco functions as an FGA to the nth degree with the absolute thinnest veneer of respect for America: Gang of Eight; trade deals; missed Senate votes; bills unread prior to voting; dishonest attacks on people; dishonest reports regarding his true meetings, agendas and actions; amnesty for millions to further compromise America's labor force, wages, values, culture and loyalties. Marco may mature and see the importance of loyalty to the nation of his birth, or he may never. Right now, it is frightening to see how his true colors light up his supporters' plans for America.

Americans are dismayed by the number of immigrants allowed to legally enter our country. We should refuse to allow entry to any who do not come to work, assimilate and teach their children to love and honor America. Additionally, we should do everything in our power to prevent the entry of illegal immigrants, those criminals-on-the-move who, by breaking our laws to get into America, make clear that they have no intention to teach their children to love and respect this country. These two very unwelcome groups are filling our country with wrongly educated, unenthusiastic, unpatriotic First Generation Americans.

Nikki Haley's Confederate flag decision has set a precedent for demeaning, denying and destroying America's historical record. Marco Rubio's selfish, shortsighted decisions will damage and ultimately destroy America's economic strength. These two FGAs are just two especially terrifying and very visible representatives of the millions whose numbers will grow exponentially. This does not bode well for the future of the United State of America.

Our Founding Fathers must have thought this type of problem through before specifying the "natural born citizen" requirement. One day, historians may discover documentation that explains their rationale behind the term and provides their precise definition of the label. The country is already in dire need of that clarification as children of migrants, both legal and illegal, come of age after growing up in a non-patriotic culture, educated in anti-American schools, and claim their right to determine the "real" meaning of America and its founding documents as the FGAs, themselves, see fit.

Linda Schrock Taylor is a reading specialist, writer and retired teacher. She is the author of "Read Better! For Adults and Teens," a manual for those wanting to read with greater ease and more efficiency. The book includes quick lessons for the code in which English is written (i.e. phonics) and 80 practice stories from mid-elementary through college reading levels with graded scoring for charting progress. Linda is now writing "Spell Better," the second in a series for teens and adults. Visit her website to see lesson samples: ReadWriteSpellBetter.com.