One of candidate Vivek Ramaswamy’s most memorable assertions during his campaign for the Republican nomination for U.S. President was that we need to clarify what it means to be an American. He argued that Americans face a national identity crisis, as we are searching for meaning and purpose that for generations had been amply provided by faith, family, patriotism, and hard work. The challenge he put before us was to revive these values. This sentiment, coming from a second-generation Indian American, ought to be an inspiring and encouraging example of colorblind civic nationalism.
It’s amusing and a bit sad, however, that a percentage of right-wing Americans (a percentage that is grossly inflated by the media) claim that the only true Americans are those who are descended from white Europeans. This is wrong for two compelling reasons: First, because Americans like Vivek Ramaswamy are passionate and highly informed believers in the American Constitution and the importance of America’s Western European heritage, and the idea that he or his progeny would undermine that is laughable. Second, because most of the people filling the streets and fomenting leftist chaos over recent years, and who are disproportionately represented at the top of these subversive movements, are Americans who are themselves descended from white Europeans.
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