Poll Asks: What Does It Take to Be 'Truly American'?

[OKIsItJustMe]

Source: NBC News

Politics
Feb 2 2017, 12:05 pm ET

Poll Asks: What Does It Take to Be ‘Truly American’ ?

by Renjini Antony

President Donald Trump's executive order on immigration has again brought one of the nation's defining questions to the forefront of public debate: What does it mean to be truly American?

A new report by the Pew Research Center explored the factors that determine national identity. The poll found that the U.S. public puts a high premium on speaking English and sharing American customs, but a smaller share believe that a person must be born on U.S. soil to be "truly American." The country is also divided - largely along partisan and religious lines - over whether being a Christian is important to American identity.



Of the four major factors Pew tested, language proved to be the most important. More than nine-in-ten American respondents agreed English proficiency is a very or somewhat important factor in being American, with 70 percent saying it is "very important."

Republicans place particular importance on English proficiency. The survey found that 83 percent of Republicans believe speaking English is very important to being "truly American," compared to 61 percent of Democrats and 67 percent of independents.

…

Read more: http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/poll-asks-what-does-it-take-be-truly-american-n715921

[tenorly]

1. Had the poll asked "being white" and "being Christian,"

that's where the real differences betwwen Republicans and everyone else would have shown up.

[OKIsItJustMe]

2. Actually... it did ask about "being Christian"

http://www.pewglobal.org/2017/02/01/what-it-takes-to-truly-be-one-of-us/

…

A clear partisan split in the U.S. also exists on the importance of being Christian. More than four-in-ten Republicans (43%) say it is a very important part of being an American. Fewer Democrats (29%) and independents (26%) share this view.

…

[tenorly]

3. I'm surprised it's only 43%.

The pollsters must have avoided the Deep South.

[IronLionZion]

5. Not just the South

I'm from Western PA and lots of folks there think Christian should be a mandatory requirement.

[tenorly]

11. I hear you.

I've seen that kind of religious zealotry among Republicans even in Orange County, CA - and a lot of it.

The only real difference California Republicans have with the southern counterparts, is that they hate Mexicans rather than Black folks and tend to have more money.

[Mountain Mule]

7. Well, it did ask about "being Christian," anyhow

And you're right. 43% of republicans thought being Christian was important. That's twice as many as Independents where only 26% thought it important. Dems came in at 29% which kind of surprises me. That's getting too close to one third of the party for comfort.

[IronLionZion]

4. If someone's Grandma speaks Italian or Norwegian or Polish

time to deport the whole family

The only things that really matter are having European heritage and a name that one would have had neighbors with similar names while growing up in small town America. Which rules out old Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III, Ivanka, and Reince for me.

I personally know several white people who have a grandparent who speaks English as a second language with an accent. Most delicious homemade meatballs, gnocchi, pierogis, boiled fish, etc. Shall we record the recipes before we send Grandma back?

Republicans would like to take us backwards to a greater time when white people discriminated against each other.

On a positive note, it looks like independents are polling much closer to Democrats than Republicans.

[Mountain Mule]

8. My Mom had a heavy accent

She was very hard of hearing, thanks to a childhood illness that left her partially deaf. Made it hard for her to pick on the inflections of American born English speakers. The only thing that saved her from deportation was that she was married to my Dad who had a good old boy, Southern accent.

[ananda]

6. I think my answer would be ..

.. absolutely nothing.

Just be a human being, free and equal
with everybody else.

[pat_k]

9. Bring other rich cultural traditions into the fabric of America.

And share and celebrate those traditions. Without the contribution of American immigrants, "American customs and traditions" would be boring as hell.

[Skittles]

10. gawd

it's astounding how many people have zero clue what it means to *BE AMERICAN*