Thomas Sowell once commented, "Most immigrants come to this country to become Americans, not to remain foreigners." My Italy-born father, as all immigrants in the early 1900s, held that very belief. Dismissing their countries, they longed to be in this "melting pot" which offered its people the most opportunities, power, freedom and riches in history. When immigrants do not try to be integrated or assimilated into American culture stagnation sets in, dividing, splitting and separating groups from one another. The UNITED states then be the DISUNITED states.

In reviewing the history of my own ethnic Italian group, I marvel at the growth and changes which have occurred since the arrival of those first immigrants in the late 1800s and early 1900s. They and their descendants, without rioting, demonstrations, threats and demands gratefully adopted the many positive aspects of the new culture; they ASSIMILATED. My father was among them. He arrived at Ellis Island with illiterate parents, went to New York City schools and survived the physical and emotional abuse experienced by East Side Italians and Jews who wandered into German, Irish or other "American" neighborhoods. (Among those in my ethnic group, anyone who wasn't Italian was referred to as an American, especially those with lighter hair or skin.)

My father was still a teenager when his father died. As the oldest son, tradition dictated that he become head of the family; to care for his mother, brothers and sisters. There were no welfare payments, food stamps or other hand-outs to support his family. He worked days and went to night school hoping to eventually earn his high school diploma, which, as a married man with two children, he finally accomplished.

My father encouraged and expected his children to be Americans, proud Americans; Americans in language, reasoning, behavior, and manners; not Italian, or even Italian-Americans. The important goal for those immigrants was integration into the new society in which they chose to live. Multiculturalism and "diversity" were not "sacred cows" as in this generation.

He became proficient in the English language and eventually became a newspaper man for the New York Evening Post but continued to speak to his mother in her native Sicilian. He was determined not to raise his children in an ethnic "ghetto" which would hinder their becoming Americanized, where they might not have full advantages in this "land of opportunity." To insure that possibility, he bought a house in a totally strange, and at times hostile community; a German neighborhood with a sprinkling of Scots, English and Irish. His relatives remained emotionally secure in their Brooklyn and Jersey City Italian neighborhoods, criticizing us for moving "so far away" (ten miles from Brooklyn) to live with the Americans. Although good, honest, loving people, they were uncomfortable, suspicious and fearful of the world outside their ethnic community. Fear crushes progress and growth.

Certainly, it was a culture shock to live in a non-Italian, predominantly German community. I grew up immersed in two life-styles; an Italian one with relatives; the other in an "American" world. My uncles kissed one another. Fathers kissed sons. Sons kissed brothers. Men held hands. Male and female in-laws touched and kissed one another. With no sexual implications, uncles patted behinds of sisters-in-law. Touching was a sign of affection. By comparison, the German parents appeared to lack passion and feeling for their children; children who feared their fathers, where open expression of feelings or emotions seemed unacceptable. But, everything was much more orderly, logical, deliberate and efficient compared to the loud, demonstrative, melodramatic Italians. German homes had sparkling windows. The women diligently scrubbed the outside front steps of the house every Saturday morning. Italian women spent most of their time in the kitchen, cooking with garlic; a vulgarity in that community.

As difficult as it was at the time, assimilation and participation in the American culture enriched our lives. I'm forever grateful to my father for making that courageous decision despite pressures from Brooklyn and Jersey where my ethnic cousins remained trapped in old-country attitudes, clinging to their native tongue, behavior and misconceptions. Some never shed their "broken English" speech even after 12 years of schooling.

The Anglo-Saxon and Germanic influences of teachers and neighbors in my "American" environment did not result in, or require that I throw away the values, religion, warmth, color and openness of my Italian heritage; I could enjoy and utilize them both. We became part of the American culture by adapting to it and over the years the "Americans" embraced much from my heritage, from pizza and spaghetti to opera and fashion.

The United States of America made spectacular progress in the first half of this century without isolating, dividing and separating citizens through ethic studies, bilingual and multiculturalism education. There is no evidence anywhere to show that the multicultural agenda has promoted harmony among our citizens. It is a relatively small group of noisy activists who stir up hostility between "minorities" and the rest of the populace. Their demands do not come from the majority of people in those groups. (For example, poll after poll continues to reveal that most Hispanic and Asian immigrants want their children to learn English - no matter how forcefully some self-appointed leaders demand a continuation of bilingual education.)

Current political demands for "diversity" divide people into separate mini-societies, one different from the other, competing with, fearful of, angry with, and misunderstanding one another. ASSIMILATION is what made this country great! Multiculturalism as it is preached today will only DIVIDE AND SEPARATE us.