America is not built on a racial or an ethnic identity. It is built on a set of root philosophies, in particular the concept of individual rights, codified in a Constitution. The fact that these ideas had an origin in England and Europe is not really relevant. The roots of the concept go back a lot further, and have analogs in other cultures.

Anyone from anywhere can be an American if they adopt these philosophies and respect the rights of others. How many other nations can say this? Would an immigrant be considered as much a Frenchman as any other if he lived in France for ten years? Fifty years? Could anyone who is not of Japanese ancestry be really accepted as Japanese?

One problem with immigration today is that too many immigrants decide they don't want to become American, they want to be Mexicans or whatever who happen to live in America. Okay, that's fine as far as it goes. But then come the demands: change your writings to our language. Put special places in schools for us to pray. Change your ways to OUR ways. This is where the conflict lies.

That, and the fact that too many people who come into this country do it illegally.