Rallies, not riots
ON MAY 1, immigrants marched in cities across America, flags waving, to petition for inclusion in the American dream. The contrast with Europe, where immigrants torched cars to protest their exclusion from society, was stark.
Every modern society is experiencing rapid immigration. Immigration fosters cultural and economic vitality. A high fraction of US Nobel laureates, for example, are immigrants or children of immigrants. Yes, in the short run immigration causes social tension. A successful immigrant society creates a shared national identity, based not on ancestry but on political and social values. European societies have yet to pass this test.
We debate illegal immigration, but Americans are proud of our immigrant past. Immigrant integration happened not because "they" became like "us," but because we learned to live with overlapping identities. We're comfortable with hyphens -- Irish-Americans yesterday, Mexican-Americans tomorrow. The result: Immigrants in America are more likely than their European counterparts to think of this as their society, too.
A century ago the Pledge of Allegiance was invented to symbolize that embracing American ideals -- one nation indivisible with liberty and justice for all -- made you a perfectly good American, even if you weren't a WASP. The kaleidoscope of flags in last May's marches, intermingled with the Stars and Stripes, shows the enduring power of that shared dream.
Robert D. Putnam is a professor at Harvard and author of "Bowling Alone." 