Not the Old Sod

For John, BLUF:  What do parents want for their children, and do we care?  For example, do our school systems wish to retain links to the old sod more than the parents wish it for their children?  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Growing up American

Here is the sub-headline:

I recall a time when public education and the entertainment world helped forge a common American culture undefined by race or sexuality.

From The Bookworm Room, by The Bookworm, 20 June 2021.

Here is the lede plus three:

I don’t think I’ve made any secret of the fact that I don’t “get” baseball.  I understand it technically, of course.  It’s just that I don’t understand why people enjoy it.

When I mentioned that as part of a bigger discussion with a friend, he said, “I don’t think that’s at all surprising considering your European upbringing.”

I knew instantly what he meant despite the fact that I was born and raised in America.  My parents came from Europe and never embraced America.  Although we spoke only English in the house (hence, my embarrassing inability to speak any languages other than English), there was nothing American in my home:  the aesthetics, the food, and the values were all tied very tightly to the old country.  Getting back to baseball, even American football, baseball, and basketball were derided (although we did like the Harlem Globetrotters).

Meanwhile, at school, all my friends were first-generation Asians.  That is, like me, their parents came from another country.  They too grew up in houses that had little to do with America.

The Bookworm then goes on to talk about how school and entertainment, in the old days, reinforced being American.

Today, not so much.

Hat tip to Sarah Hoyt, at the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff