Rush Tarquin
Gone Fishin'
Okay, the challenge is to spread the 'Deutche Athen' German-American political attitude beyond the upper midwest and into a durable, national, German-American political consensus.
A good question might be - what is this about?
I don't think its about this
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_School_of_Athens
so I'm flummoxed...
Best Regards
Grey Wolf
Do you mean a larger German-American political movement, or a non-ethnic political movement based on the ideals of the Forty-Eighters? Or just a strong Central European style Socialist party?
I'm keeping it general. German-Americans as a predominantly left-leaning ethnic bloc a la African-Americans or Jewish Americans.
That's difficult then. Germans assimilate way too easily into mainstream culture compared to those groups. They don't have anything for some prejudicial media to point to and show that their different, at least nothing like religion or skin-color that can't be changed easily.
Now, it's possible that you could get something more like Italian-Americans or Irish-Americans. For some reason, German-Americans don't make as big a deal out of their heritage as other immigrant groups. You don't hear a lot of celebrities bragging about their German upbringing (well, except on Prairie Home Companion), despite their population figures being very close. I'd guess it probably has something to do with a war or two.
@ Swan Station:
Indeed it is difficult. This challenge is intended as a real challenge, not fishing for ideas.
If you've got ideas for the three possibilities you mentioned though, I'd love to hear them.
Anecdotally, l've been told by various relatives and elderly teachers that in my neck of the woods, German was the lingua franca prior to the outbreak of the first world war, when the community made a deliberate effort to assimilate. I wouldn't be shocked to hear similar stories from other heavily German areas in the midwest.That's difficult then. Germans assimilate way too easily into mainstream culture compared to those groups. They don't have anything for some prejudicial media to point to and show that their different, at least nothing like religion or skin-color that can't be changed easily.
Now, it's possible that you could get something more like Italian-Americans or Irish-Americans. For some reason, German-Americans don't make as big a deal out of their heritage as other immigrant groups. You don't hear a lot of celebrities bragging about their German upbringing (well, except on Prairie Home Companion), despite their population figures being somewhat higher. I'd guess it probably has something to do with a war or two.
Anecdotally, l've been told by various relatives and elderly teachers that in my neck of the woods, German was the lingua franca prior to the outbreak of the first world war, when the community made a deliberate effort to assimilate. I wouldn't be shocked to hear similar stories from other heavily German areas in the midwest.
If the United States had remained neutral, perhaps we wouldn't have lost the lanuage and you would see a sort of German Quebec develop in rural Illinois, Ohio, Indiana, and Wisconsin.
Something like French speakers in Louisiana, only larger as a % of the population.
Anecdotally, l've been told by various relatives and elderly teachers that in my neck of the woods, German was the lingua franca prior to the outbreak of the first world war, when the community made a deliberate effort to assimilate. I wouldn't be shocked to hear similar stories from other heavily German areas in the midwest.
If the United States had remained neutral, perhaps we wouldn't have lost the lanuage and you would see a sort of German Quebec develop in rural Illinois, Ohio, Indiana, and Wisconsin.
Something like French speakers in Louisiana, only larger as a % of the population.