The enduring heritage Americans share

A picture might be worth a thousand words.A specific picture from a recent college football game, however, is spawning tens of thousands of words – in print and on television and social media. Some of the comments could have been kinder or more civil, but many others are both instructive and nuanced.As voters in the United States head toward November's midterm elections, in which immigration is a key concern, these observations offer constructive insights into what it means to be and to become truly American. To recap: On Saturday, the Texas Longhorns came from behind to score a thrilling 1-point victory over the top-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes. The thousands of burnt-orange-clad, cowboy-hat-wearing UT fans in the stadium – including many students apparently of South Asian heritage – were euphoric.The next morning, a candidate for state office in Texas posted an image of these students on the social platform X as evidence of his previously voiced claims of too much immigration and too many “foreigners” displacing Americans. “The problem is ... far worse than anyone imagined,” wrote Bo French, a Republican running for a seat on the Texas Railroad Commission.What other commentators saw, however, was proof of the country’s fundamental uniqueness – as a melting pot and meritocracy that accepts and integrates “new” Americans. “When I look at the picture ... I see something beautiful,” commented columnist David French (no relation to the Texas politician). “I see a nation with a culture created by an idea – that all men are created equal – that serves as a magnet for people all over the world,” he wrote in The New York Times Thursday.It’s been pointed out that many, if not most, of the UT students pictured are likely first- or second-generation American citizens, not “foreigners.” And UT’s policy is to fill at least 75% of its spaces with high-performing high schoolers who are Texas residents.“Longhorns fans are a Texas-size win for American assimilation,” The Washington Post remarked this week.Still, some on the right insist that “heritage Americanism,” tracing longtime European and largely Christian family roots on U.S. soil, is more valid than the integration and naturalization of citizens who have arrived more recently, many of them from the Global South.But such viewpoints, and partisan divisions around them, run contrary to the experience of generations of settlers and pioneers who forged new lives in the U.S. And they’re contrary to the design and aims of the nation’s Founding Fathers, too. Deepen your worldviewwith Monitor Highlights.Politics with respectGet political stories with respectful analysis.There‘s a world of new ideas in everyBooks newsletter.There‘s more to life, enrich yours withCulture & Learning weekly.Follow humanity‘s discoveries withScience & Nature stories in your inbox.Gain a spiritual perspectivefrom the stories in your inbox.Want to understand the deeper impact of critical events? Learn the Monitor‘s insight.Already a subscriber? Log in to hide ads. “Every civic crisis is also an opportunity for civic education,” according to columnist French. Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and George Washington, he pointed out, “openly and explicitly welcomed” peoples of all faiths and origins “to join our national family.”As a writer for the National Review summed it up: “The story of coming to America is intertwined with who we are, and how we have always understood ourselves. It is our heritage.” ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER? LoginReal news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.The Christian Science Monitor was founded in 1908 to lift the standard of journalism and uplift humanity. We aim to “speak the truth in love.” Our goal is not to tell you what to think, but to give you the essential knowledge and understanding to come to your own intelligent conclusions. Join us in this mission by subscribing.