Let’s All Be Multicultural

Are you a multicultural American? I’ve been asking this question of myself for some time now, but really haven’t come up with an acceptable answer. My own heritage is 100% Irish, so I have no problem with the Irish and all those Irish wannabes drinking green beer or eating corned beef and cabbage on St. Patrick’s Day. This despite the fact that the Irish, the ones who actually live in Ireland, apparently rarely, if ever, consume corned beef and cabbage. Just don’t tell that to all those Irish-Americans who consider themselves more Irish than the Irish. I, however, detest cabbage in all its forms so I tend to focus on the Murphy’s Stout or perhaps a wee dram of Paddy’s or Kilbeggan Irish whiskey.

I also enjoy joining the Germans for Oktoberfest when, once again, beer takes center stage. There seems to be a pattern here. But we can’t ignore the many, tasty German foods: varieties of wurst, or schnitzel, or sauerbraten. Just trash the sauerkraut, another disguised version of always distasteful cabbage. 

And then there are the Italians, probably my favorite collection of ethnic Americans. They have all kinds of holidays, perfect excuses to celebrate and share their wonderful food and excellent wines with those of us who wish our names had more vowels than consonants. There’s nothing like a good Neopolitan pizza and a bottle of inexpensive Chianti. Yes, I actually am an Italian wannabe, and look forward to our next trip to Italia, once they scrap all the COVID nonsense. 

I also love the Jews, our elder brothers and sisters in faith, but don’t really care much for their traditional foods. I suppose I’m too much of a meat and potatoes guy. But on second thought, I always did enjoy Mrs. Moll’s potato kugel and brisket. The Moll family were our neighbors in Larchmont, New York, where I grew up as a kid. I hung out with their twin sons, Richard and Robert, and would on occasion be asked to join them for dinner. If I happened to be there at lunchtime, Mrs. Moll would always offer me a nice thick pastrami sandwich. Jewish wines, however, tend to be far too sweet for me, so I politely decline them when asked. I like to think that at Cana Jesus didn’t turn water into a first-century version of Manischewitz, but perhaps offered the newlyweds a drier kosher wine.

I also enjoy many Asian foods, from China, Japan, and Vietnam, although my all-time favorite Asian food is Filipino lumpia. Back in the mid-70s, aboard the USS Okinawa, the officers’ wardroom was blessed to be managed by Senior Chief Filipe who made the best lumpia I have ever tasted. I’m searching for a good recipe and when I find it will have to convince Dear Diane to give it a try. I’ve also sampled perhaps too many glasses of sake as well as a variety of excellent Asian beers. 

So, you see, I am very multicultural, at least when it comes to food and drink. I also enjoy the people I have known, wonderful folks who, like my grandparents, immigrated to this country and settled here in the U.S.A. for the long term. Most brought pieces of their cultures with them — their unique foods, their music, art, and literature, their faith — making wonderful contributions to our uniquely American melting-pot. Because most immigrants came here for a purpose, to escape repression, corruption, violence, genocide, and the other evil trappings of their decaying societies, they willingly embraced the American form of Western Civilization. Thank God for that. 

But today, things are changing. The multiculturalism of the left makes some truly foolish claims; for example, that no civilization is better than any other. Sorry, but even the most cursory study of history and culture will show this to be false. Western Civilization has been a true gift to the people of the world. It has brought them more personal freedom, more economic opportunity, more political freedom, more progress in the sciences and technology than any or all other civilizations. Why do you think so many people have continued to take such horrendous risks to enter this country while virtually none leave? Sadly, our current administration and its fellow travelers seem to despise the nation and the civilization that allowed them to take office. It takes centuries to develop a multinational civilization, but only a few short years to destroy it. If we let them, those in power today will lead us back to the barbarism that results when civilizations die. We can’t let that happen. Pray for our troubled, divided nation and our civilization.