Well Said.....

[BPTactical]

On Saturday, July 24th, 2010, the town of Prescott Valley , AZ, hosted a Freedom Rally. Quang Nguyen was asked to speak on his experience of coming to America and what it means.
He spoke the following in dedication to all Vietnam Veterans. Thought you might enjoy hearing what he had to say:
"35 years ago, if you were to tell me that I am going to stand up here speaking to a couple thousand patriots, in English, I'd laugh at you. Man, every morning I wake up thanking God for putting me and my family in the greatest country on earth.
I just want you all to know that the American dream does exist and I am living the American dream. I was asked to speak to you about my experience as a first generation Vietnamese-American, but I'd rather speak to you as an American.
If you hadn't noticed, I am not white and I feel pretty comfortable with my people.
I am a proud US citizen and here is my proof. It took me 8 years to get it, waiting in endless lines, but I got it, and I am very proud of it.
I still remember the images of the Tet offensive in 1968, I was six years old. Now you might want to question how a 6-year-old boy could remember anything. Trust me, those images can never be erased. I can't even imagine what it was like for young American soldiers, 10,000 miles away from home, fighting on my behalf.
35 years ago, I left South Vietnam for political asylum. The war had ended. At the age of 13, I left with the understanding that I may or may not ever get to see my siblings or parents again. I was one of the first lucky 100,000 Vietnamese allowed to come to the U.S. Somehow, my family and I were reunited 5 months later, amazingly, in California. It was a miracle.
If you haven't heard lately that this is the greatest country on earth, I am telling you that right now. It was the freedom and the opportunities presented to me that put me here with all of you tonight. I also remember the barriers that I had to overcome every step of the way. My high school counselor told me that I cannot make it to college due to my poor communication skills. I proved him wrong. I finished college. You see, all you have to do is to give this little boy an opportunity and encourage him to take and run with it. Well, I took the opportunity and here I am.
This person standing tonight in front of you could not exist under a socialist/communist environment. By the way, if you think socialism is the way to go, I am sure many people here will chip in to get you a one-way ticket out of here. And, if you didn't know, the only difference between socialism and communism is an AK-47 aimed at your head. That was my experience.
In 1982, I stood with a thousand new immigrants, reciting the Pledge of Allegiance and listening to the National Anthem for the first time as an American. To this day, I can't remember anything sweeter and more patriotic than that moment in my life.
Fast forwarding, somehow I finished high school, finished college, and like any other goofball 21-year-old kid, I was having a great time with my life. I had a nice job and a nice apartment in Southern California. In some way and somehow, I had forgotten how I got here and why I was here.
One day, I was at a gas station and saw a veteran pumping gas on the other side of the island. I don't know what made me do it, but I walked over and asked if he had served in Vietnam. He smiled and said, "Yes." I shook and held his hand. The grown man began to well up. I walked away as fast as I could and, at that very moment, I was emotionally rocked. This was a profound moment in my life. I knew something had to change in my life. It was time for me to learn how to be a good citizen. It was time for me to give back.
You see, America is not just a place on the map, it isn't just a physical location. It is an ideal, a concept. And, if you are an American, you must understand the concept, you must accept this concept, and, most importantly, you have to fight and defend this concept. This is about Freedom and not free stuff. And that is why I am standing up here.
Brothers and sisters, to be a real American, the very least you must do is to learn English and understand it well. In my humble opinion, you cannot be a faithful patriotic citizen if you can't speak the language of the country you live in. Take this document of 46 pages - last I looked on the internet, there wasn't a Vietnamese translation of the U.S. Constitution. It took me a long time to get to the point of being able to converse and, to this day, I still struggle to come up with the right words. It's not easy, but if it's too easy, it's not worth doing.
Before I knew this 46-page document, I learned of the 500,000 Americans who fought for this little boy. I learned of the 58,000 names inscribed on the black wall at the Vietnam Memorial. You are my heroes. You are my founders.
At this time, I would like to ask all the Vietnam veterans to please stand. I thank you for my life. I thank you for your sacrifices, and I thank you for giving me the freedom and liberty I have today. I now ask all veterans, firefighters, and police officers, to please stand. On behalf of all first generation immigrants, I thank you for your services and may God bless you all.
Quang Nguyen
Creative Director/Founder
Caddis Advertising, LLC”
Notice that he referred to himself as an American, NOT Vietnamese-American.
How good it would be here in America if all of the immigrants---no, EVERYONE--- felt like Quang Nguyen.
"One Flag, One Language, One Nation Under God

Very well said and every 'Nam vet should be proud

[sellersm]

+1

[King]

Very cool

[Singlestack]

I worked with several Vietnamese, most of whom were boat people, when I worked in California in the 80s and 90s. To a person, they were staunchly pro-American patriotic and very, very proud to be American citizens. One even told me at lunch he considered it an honor to die for the US, if need be. His freedom meant everything to him.

These people have spine and tough backbone. They are industrious and work hard. "Good" immigrants like them strengthen the US and make us a better country, by far.

Singlestack

[Mazin]

Man very well put.

I think a lot could benefit in reading this and then maybe they could understand the sacrifice of our Vietnam Vets and all Vets in general.

[pepito]

+1

[zteknik]

Thanks for that BP.
Verry well put.

My parrents emigrated from Poland after ww2 and from comunism in the mid 50's.
They basicly said the same thing.
And who would have thought their son would be able to serve in the Army

I just wish more people told storries like this and more people can hear it and understand-understand being the key word.

[sabot_round]

That was awesome!! Thanks!

[02ducky]

That is just refreshing to read, so much better than these illegals, errr... I mean undocumented citizens... That now come to American and bleed the system dry.

[Bailey Guns]

There are a lot of "real" Americans out there who could learn some valuable lessons on civics and patriotism from this new American citizen.

What a great read.