Our Comedic Start
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My wife, two teenage sons and I went to see Tommy Davidson perform at a San Francisco Bay Area comedy club a few years ago. We got there early, and snagged seats upfront. It was a great show. We had a lot of fun.
If you do not know, Tommy is a black comedian and movie star, who was adopted and raised by white parents. I suspect, this background has had its challenges, but likely also helps him come up with good lines and insightful perspectives on the subject. If nothing else, it helped him make our family the brunt of a few good jokes that evening. You see, my wife is black, and I am white. So, as soon as he spotted us, Tommy started talking about race. He decided to pick on us by asking "What do you call those two, anyway?" My wife, an outgoing performer in her own right, shouts back, "They are Afro-Irish!" The crowd loved it, so Tommy went on to inquire, "Are they mixed, mallotto, zebras, swirl babies..." and just about every other name one can think of. It was really funny, and we were in no way offended. It was all good fun, made a point, and made the crowd think. |
While laughing, I am thinking, "that's Chris, and that's Nick." I go on to think, "they are American." Then the athlete and proud papa in me kicked in...so, I thought NO, they are not just American, they are "All American." They represent the best of America, the melting pot, the best of all of us. They are fully capable, confident, talented, good hearted individuals. They are people we can all be proud to know and love. They ARE the American Ideal, where all men (and women) are judged by WHO they are, not merely by HOW they look, WHERE they come from, or WHAT racial group they can be PUT INTO. They are all of us. They are unique. They are special. They are All Stars in their own right. They are All Americans.
We liked the idea. We liked the new, positive way of expressing one's identity, regardless of ethnicity. So we decided to try to redefine the traditional concept of what it means to be All American - from just the blond haired, blue-eyed stereotype so many minorities negatively associate with the term - to the broader truly All American Ideal proposed centuries ago by our (sometimes hypocritical) founders, and the ideals put forth in The Declaration of Independence, and embodied by today's multi-ethnic, multi-racial nation. So, WeAreAllAmerican.org, IAmAllAmerican.org, and their offspring were born. Thank you, Mr. Davidson!
We liked the idea. We liked the new, positive way of expressing one's identity, regardless of ethnicity. So we decided to try to redefine the traditional concept of what it means to be All American - from just the blond haired, blue-eyed stereotype so many minorities negatively associate with the term - to the broader truly All American Ideal proposed centuries ago by our (sometimes hypocritical) founders, and the ideals put forth in The Declaration of Independence, and embodied by today's multi-ethnic, multi-racial nation. So, WeAreAllAmerican.org, IAmAllAmerican.org, and their offspring were born. Thank you, Mr. Davidson!
No Hyphen Needed
We understand many of the reasons why millions of people identify themselves as a hyphenated version of American. To many, doing so is a source of, and/or expression of, pride, culture, and history. It is also a way to belong. There is nothing wrong with this, but we believe The All American Ideal transcends these norms, and promotes a stronger, ever more confident identity.
As such, we do not hyphenate "All American" because:
1. Hyphens imply something that is not whole unto itself.
2. Hyphens look like mathematical minus signs. All Americans are the SUM(+), not the difference (-), of two individuals. Perhaps more precisely, All Americans are the sum of generations of people. We belong, by not belonging, because we are all unique and special individuals, with different backgrounds, opinions and ideas. This America, is fantastic!
As such, we do not hyphenate All American. It is beautifully complete unto itself.
As such, we do not hyphenate "All American" because:
1. Hyphens imply something that is not whole unto itself.
2. Hyphens look like mathematical minus signs. All Americans are the SUM(+), not the difference (-), of two individuals. Perhaps more precisely, All Americans are the sum of generations of people. We belong, by not belonging, because we are all unique and special individuals, with different backgrounds, opinions and ideas. This America, is fantastic!
As such, we do not hyphenate All American. It is beautifully complete unto itself.
We Love Diversity, But We Are Not The Police
We love diversity. We love learning from others. We love the mix and makeup of all the world's people, culture and creatures. We are blessed to live in a time and place where we can easily experience these things, and all people. We appreciate life's differences and distinctions. They make each day more interesting. We love beautifully wrapped packages, but cherish more, the gift within.
We also love differences of opinion. New perspectives challenge us to arrive at the best solution. This requires strength, inner confidence, and real self esteem. This is not a philosophy for the weak. Weak minds, and weak people depend on dogma, social acceptance, peer pressure, and racism. They are afraid to be - even politely - challenged, because they do not know how to defend their ideas. By contrast, All Americans encourage dialog, challenging conversation, and civil, but passionate debate.
We also love differences of opinion. New perspectives challenge us to arrive at the best solution. This requires strength, inner confidence, and real self esteem. This is not a philosophy for the weak. Weak minds, and weak people depend on dogma, social acceptance, peer pressure, and racism. They are afraid to be - even politely - challenged, because they do not know how to defend their ideas. By contrast, All Americans encourage dialog, challenging conversation, and civil, but passionate debate.
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Our family, and families like ours, would not exist, if those before us had not risked their lives, and their families lives, pursuing civil rights, equal justice and the All American Ideal - where people are judged not by the color of their skin, religion, or sex - but rather the content of their character, their actions, their knowledge, their skills and their beliefs. These are the ideals of an All American.
Prejudice and stereotypes still exists, and likely always will. It is sad, disgusting, and unfair. We must continue the stand up for freedom and equality for All Americans (and human rights across the globe). That said, we also have to be careful not to confuse civil rights, equal justice and real freedom fighting, with well-branded, but diametrically opposed causes like Social Justice and the politically correct positions of the so called "diversity police." Why? |
First, despite branding efforts to make Social Justice seem like the next civil rights movement, it actually has nothing to do with civil rights. Like many, we used to use the two terms (Social Justice and Civil Rights) interchangeably as well. They sound like the same thing. There is in fact a big difference. Hard to believe? Look it up. Civil Rights is a fight for freedom. Social Justice is a way to minimize freedom. Social Justice IS NOT Equal Justice, it is UNequal Justice. It is in fact, a socialistic economic movement focused on the redistribution of wealth, not freedom and blind justice for all. Their cause is not dedicated to ending racism, sexism, and the like. But, by targeting historically oppressed people, they blur their real agenda. They purposely position themselves this way to gain support, to gain mass, to gain political, not moral, might. It is good strategy, but absolutely not a movement that can, or will, help All Americans prosper (particularly not the poor and the middle class).
Second, if you truly believe all men (and women) are created equal, regardless of race or religion; then you must also believe All Americans are fully capable of succeeding largely on their own merits, or at least with a little help from their friends. We believe there is a fine line between eliminating barriers to entry, enforcing justice equally, and patronizing and pitying others. Walls to freedom are obviously racist, but softer, sweeter, condescending positions are racist too. We contend, such positions show how little one actually appreciates and respects the strengths and drive inherent in All Americans, and our diverse cultures. As such, The All American Movement sees a distinct difference between fighting for freedom, and taking the short term position of weakness, or more typically a position of jealousy and guilt, promoted by many now socially acceptable organizations.
In sports, an athlete is more likely to score if they stay focused on the goal. Focusing on the flight of the ball causes one to miss the mark, badly. Similarly, we believe the better way to eliminate the -isms of the world, and today's nasty political climate, is not to focus on the past, but rather to get people together, to keep our eyes on the prize, to relentlessly purse The All American Ideal, and The All American Dream. We hope you do too.
Second, if you truly believe all men (and women) are created equal, regardless of race or religion; then you must also believe All Americans are fully capable of succeeding largely on their own merits, or at least with a little help from their friends. We believe there is a fine line between eliminating barriers to entry, enforcing justice equally, and patronizing and pitying others. Walls to freedom are obviously racist, but softer, sweeter, condescending positions are racist too. We contend, such positions show how little one actually appreciates and respects the strengths and drive inherent in All Americans, and our diverse cultures. As such, The All American Movement sees a distinct difference between fighting for freedom, and taking the short term position of weakness, or more typically a position of jealousy and guilt, promoted by many now socially acceptable organizations.
In sports, an athlete is more likely to score if they stay focused on the goal. Focusing on the flight of the ball causes one to miss the mark, badly. Similarly, we believe the better way to eliminate the -isms of the world, and today's nasty political climate, is not to focus on the past, but rather to get people together, to keep our eyes on the prize, to relentlessly purse The All American Ideal, and The All American Dream. We hope you do too.
