To the Editor:

I was shocked by the article about young Greek-Americans’ divided loyalties; and on the Fourth of July, of all days! (“Do You Feel More Greek Than American?” July 4 Special Edition.) It is certainly eye-opening.
Growing up in New York, there was never any doubt in my mind or among my family that our first loyalty belonged to America. Greece is the land of our ancestors and we are certainly proud of our heritage. But when push comes to shove, we are Americans. My grandfather left Chios (then part of Ottoman Turkey) in 1910, and proudly adopted America as his home. My grandmother joined him in 1921, and to her dying day, 81 years later, she wore her love for and loyalty to America on her sleeve.
The article speaks of loyalty to each country’s Olympic athletes, perhaps to make light of the issue. But if the level of loyalty displayed by those interviewed was found in German-Americans or Italian-Americans during World War II, the war might have had a different outcome.
I suspect this sort of thinking is a natural outgrowth of the Left’s emphasis on multiculturalism and the tendency to treat assimilation as anathema.
Yet, only by assimilating into the proverbial melting pot can all of America’s immigrants and their descendants form a more perfect Union.
God bless America.

John C. Stratakis
New York, NY