America's greatness

Navarrette: Sometimes America's greatness is best articulated with an accent

DALLAS - Along with most of my family - my parents, my siblings, and all but one of my grandparents - I was born not in Mexico, but in the United States. What I do every day bears no resemblance to the backbreaking work that my grandparents did to provide for their families. And so, every once in a while I need a reminder of what makes this country unique. This week, I got one.
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's passionate speech this week to the Republican National Convention should serve as a teaching moment for native-born Americans, who often need a reminder of how good they have it and how much their country has to offer.
There is so much that immigrants can teach the native-born - about optimism and sacrifice, about hard work and self-reliance, about allowing oneself to dream and fulfilling one's potential.
Just as those who lived under a dictatorship tend to have the firmest grasp of the concept of freedom, immigrants - especially those who come from impoverished countries - are often in the best position to appreciate the opportunities offered by the United States.

The Austrian-born Schwarzenegger sure does.

"I was born in Europe . . . and I've traveled all over the world,'' said Schwarzenegger. "I can tell you that there is no place, no country, more compassionate, more generous, more accepting and more welcoming than the United States of America.''
He said that he would never forget becoming a U.S. citizen and how he spent that day with an American flag draped over his shoulders. I loved hearing that story but - as someone born in this country - I had trouble imagining myself doing the same thing.
Just as immigrants probably find it tough to relate to those who warn that America's best days are behind it, or that American workers can't compete with low-wage workers in Beijing or Bangalore, or that the next generation of Americans might not measure up to the ones that came before it.
"Don't you believe it,'' said Schwarzenegger of the pessimism advanced by the doom-and-gloom crowd. "America always moves ahead.''
That message needs to get through to native-born Americans. Just because they were lucky enough to be born in the right place doesn't mean they can stroll through life as if they've racked up some miraculous achievement.
If the United States wanted to be true to its spirit, says Mexican-American essayist Richard Rodriguez, it would bring in more immigrants. To make room, he says, half-jokingly, we could round up all the third- and fourth-generation Americans and ship them back to wherever their ancestors came from. After all, says Rodriguez, after a few generations, the native-born are no longer really the point of America. What he means is that the Americans of today - with their sense of entitlement, their soft hands and diminished work ethic, their gloomy outlook on the world, and their incessant complaints about everything from outsourcing to taxes to affirmative action - have strayed far from the can-do spirit that helped build this country.

Schwarzenegger has that spirit.

"My fellow Americans,'' he said, "I want you to know that I believe with all my heart that America remains 'the great idea' that inspires the world. It's a privilege to be born here. It's an honor to become a citizen here. It's a gift to raise your family here, to vote here and to live here.''
That's a lot more inspiring than what Latino groups got from Teresa Heinz Kerry. Born in Mozambique, Heinz Kerry has tried to relate to Latinos by telling them that she's "an immigrant too.'' While Heinz Kerry's remarks came across as a condescending attempt to feign empathy, Schwarzenegger seemed to speak from the heart and from his own experience.
In this remarkable country, Schwarzenegger said, for those who are willing to work hard and sacrifice, there are no limits - and it doesn't matter where you are born, who your parents are, how much money you have, or at what point in life you learn to speak English.
The action star turned political star admitted that he himself was in his 20s when he learned English. And, as we all know, he still takes ribbing for his accent.
But guess what? In America, you sometimes need an accent to articulate what this country is all about.

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