Today I heard a word from my distant past that no longer is applicable to our society - assimilation.
An immigration-reduction activist said we should cut off immigration completely and allow "assimilation to work." Well, good luck with that because given that we live in a multicultural country, into which culture is one supposed to assimilate?
"Inclusion" now is the operative word being thrown around like confetti when the New Year arrives. I chose to define this word in geology terms because it nicely gets to the point: A body or particle recognizably distinct from the substance in which it is embedded.
Assimilation, on the other hand, refers to the process through which individuals and groups of differing heritages acquire the basic habits, attitudes and mode of life of an embracing culture.
See any of that going around lately?
DAVE GORAK is a retired Chicago journalist and current executive director of the Midwest Coalition to Reduce Immigration
