“Since this is the last speech that I will give as President, I think it's fitting to leave one final thought, an observation about a country which I love. It was stated best in a letter I received not long ago. A man wrote me and said: ``You can go to live in France, but you cannot become a Frenchman. You can go to live in Germany or Turkey or Japan, but you cannot become a German, a Turk, or a Japanese. But anyone, from any corner of the Earth, can come to live in America and become an American.”He goes on to tell the story of a German who says his happiest times were in America, as a WWII prisoner of war.
Reagan read this speech from a script. I do not know who wrote it.
People are probably quoting this to prove that Republicans should be in favor of USA open borders. I am not sure that is what he is saying. Maybe he is just making an observation that USA does take immigrants from all over the world, without saying whether it is good or bad.
France does have a lot of Arab citizens now. Is he saying they are not Frenchmen?
There really is an American ethnic group. Not long ago, most Americans were of heritage mostly from Britain and a few neighboring countries. It became an ethnicity distinct from British.
The USA now has millions of people from India, China, Mexico, and lot of other countries. Most become American citizens, but are they really considered American? It seems to me that someone from China will call himself Chinese-American, even if he is a USA citizen.
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