The continuous flood of Latinos to Florida has divided this area into two cultures with two languages.  Hispanics refuse to assimilate into the United States mainstream, forming instead their own political enclave, as evidenced in Miami, thus rejecting the Anglo-Protestant values that were the blueprint formation of this country.  The debate still rages as to whether English should be made the official language of state government.  I hear Governor Jeb Bush speaking Spanish all the time.  If you get lost in Miami, you had better have a knowledge of high school Spanish, or remain lost.

    This country was built by 17th century settlers who were mostly British, white, Protestants, and whose culture was the founding cornerstone of our democracy, with their work ethic and common law.  Author, and third President of the United States, twice-elected Thomas Jefferson, cast a strong light for US identity, not only by drafting the Declaration of Independence, but was a creative genius in his own right.

 

    Later years saw a larger diversification of ethnic backgrounds brought here by Irish, Scottish, Polish, Scandinavians and Germans, bringing with them their Christian religion and languages.  WWII and the Nationality Act of 1965, served to dissipate this ethnicity creating a stronger national identity, known as Americanism, which is very much defined as culture and creed.  The elements of this creed are: the English language, Christianity, the strong work ethic, rule of law, strong individual rights and nationalism.  However, this is currently and quickly being modified by large numbers of Latinos, who tend to be Roman Catholic, have large families, and exhibit a passionate nature of being boisterous, fun-loving, and rejecting Anglo ways.  They also do not like being "restricted" by Anglo laws, creating havoc in our legal system, filling the jails and bringing retired judges back to the Bench. 

 

    Most white "Americans" are moving to the center of the State of Florida, which is considered more "Southern."  Americans love to boast that Ellis Island assimilated all kinds of immigrants into their culture.  But, in this area anyway, we are not remaining a location with a single national language, with a core Protestant culture; instead the hot-blooded Latin is reproducing at a more rapid rate causing a change in our demographics. But does America really have an identity?

 

    The impact of Mexican immigration through California is causing local residents on the Arizona border to take the law into their own hands and form posses, telling the "mojados" (wetbacks) you are not welcome here. In Florida, I live in "Zone 3" according to my insurance company.  That means we pay the highest premiums for all our insurance, including medical insurance, because of the outrageous amount of fraud which transpires.  Wife beating and the abuse of children may still be practiced in South America, but when they bring those outmoded habits here and are met with stiff resistance by law enforcement, they should not be surprised, because they wanted to come and be a part of a civilized country. If I want to start sparks flying at a party with my Cuban friends, all I have to do is mention Castro's name.

 

    I am currently watching a Spanish soap: "Gitanas" where the main Mexican character pokes fun at our national anthem because she cannot pronounce the words: "Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light what so proudly we held at the twilight's last gleaming...." I was appalled at the lack of respect, but I did not change channels because the show is talking about a Spanish gypsy having an affair with a priest, and I am curious to see whether he leaves the Church for her.  So I am hooked because as a writer I am trying to get into the writer's mentality and see how she resolves this dilemma.  Another thing I am noticing is that they are presenting infomercials of how to remain in this country legally if they were a "mojado."  Encouraging people to break the law is not what I was taught to do. Again, a different perspective of things.

 

    Violence against women is still very prevalent in their macho society and seeing women being slapped around on their soaps is not easy for me to watch; but such is the Mexican society.  "Gitanas" is currently showing the bigotry that exists in their own backyard and how the old Spanish landowners practice their own brand of prejudice and refuse to accept the gypsy tribes.

 

    Quite frankly, I am too multi-ethnic to consider myself either American or British, even though I hold dual citizenship. I feel that I am a citizen of the world and that globalization is here to stay for economic purposes, but society does not move that quickly and lags behind. But would I want to embrace the Chinese culture?  I doubt I would feel comfortable with it.  I had a difficult enough time adjusting to the toilets in Japan.  The long line was for the whole in the floor, the short line was for us occidentals who are used to seats.  So I guess it is a matter of what you are used to.  Some people are more flexible than others.  What kind of food, what type of music, what religion, and what your goals are in life, are what denote your character.  If somebody speaks to me in Spanish, I will answer them in that language, and if they speak to me in Chinese, I will answer in sign language because I feel the important thing to do is communicate, not judge.  Americans tend to be isolationists but with the next census arriving in a few days, I think we are in for a big surprise here in Florida.

 

    I recall the lyrics of the show "South Pacific" - "you've got to be carefully taught to hate..."  and after my family's bad experience under Nazism, I never want to let my thoughts wander in that direction.  One thing I force myself to do is not to become set in my ways, as that leads to narrow-mindedness, and as a writer, I cannot afford the luxury of such myopia. 

 

Alinka Zyrmont