We Built THIS Country?

My job commute has taken me through some pretty depressing townscapes of late. I'm from northern New Jersey, remember, which is typically held up as an example of what can go wrong with a place. And why not? So many freeways and shopping malls dot the region, as well as tract housing, barracks-style apartment houses, and loud neon signs. I'm at least lucky that I don't have to drive past the chemical refineries near Newark.

Northern New Jersey, of course, is hardly alone in being in abundance of such ugly suburban sprawl. Much of the country looks more and more like my neck of the woods, or my neck of whatever woods are still standing around here. One of the few remaining forested acreages in Essex County, half a mile from my house, is being cleared out to make way for more hideous McMansions that blend architectural styles of different countries that present something uniquely American, like hip-hop . . . and just as unbearable.

This got me thinking about some of the nasty comments native-born Americans make about immigrants being a drain on our society. "We built this country!" they shout. Yes, they did. Native-born Americans are responsible for the houses, stores, highways, and corporate farms that define our landscape. Ironically, they got immigrants to do a lot of the dirty work to get them built. But what exactly got built?

As a native-born American, this isn't something I'm proud of. :-(