redblueamerica.com

Americanization doesn't happen solely by osmosis, Joel. That's part of it, of course. But in the past, it also occurred through a fairly rigorous and unapologetic process of civic indoctrination. It may seem silly now, but remember, too, that the sentiments of Franklin and others didn't float out into the ether of American discourse and disappear. They were followed closely by laws and policies, to say nothing of an effort by early educators such as Noah Webster to ensure that generations of Americans learned to be, well, American.

"We'll change them, too," only if we firmly reject the destructive notions that one can be an American without having understanding the language, the principles, the history and the duties of citizenship.