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It always tickles me when I ask someone where their family is from, I more often than not hear places such as ‘Ohio, Wisconsin, New York or California,’ or somewhere else here in the United States.

That might be where you and your brothers and sisters were born, but respectfully, that is not where you were from.

Unless of course, you are of course of Native American (Indian) descent.

Most Americans against immigrants, don’t actually realize that they are the direct descendants of immigrants themselves.  

German immigrants. Italian immigrants. British immigrants. Jewish immigrants. Polish immigrants. European immigrants. Latin American immigrants. Asian immigrants. African immigrants.

And yes, Middle Eastern immigrants too.

I am talking here about the inspiring and aspirational stories of your parents, your grand parents, your great grand parents and such.  If you want to have some fun testing the theory, simply ask the elder statesmen and elder stateswomen in your family to tell you the roots of your family being here, in America.  Get ready for an ear full.

Many came to America in the struggling days of the early to mid 20th century, and some descendants came here in the 19th and 18th century, but they all share a great deal in common with the life aspiration of today’s immigrant population.

All immigrants come basically, with the same theme music:  ‘things are really tough where we lived, and we came to America to stake our claim to a better life for me and my family.’

And yes, we should be 100% for legal immigration, and 100% against illegal immigration.  This is common sense.  That said, we should not also desire to risk ‘winning the battle and losing the war,’ by drawing a line in the sand with silly statements.  Statements rooted in fear, such as ‘we reject all Muslims.’

There are more than 1 billion Muslims in the world, and 98% are peace loving individuals. Some of them have created companies and innovations right here in our beloved America, that has changed your life.

I write in LinkedIn Influencers about one of those innovations and change agents, whose father was an immigrant from Syria, and his adopted mother, Armenian.

Read more here at LinkedIn Influencers, and let me know what you think.

The Syrian Immigrant that EVERYONE wants…

Let’s go…

John Hope Bryant

 

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