By contrast, America was completely different. The country was founded by immigrants and its culture was an eclectic integration of many cultures, more than anywhere else in the world.

The thing about immigrants - and this applies today as it did throughout history - is their willingness to adopt the ways of their new country, and to work hard to succeed in their new world. That's what made America what it became. Those are the roots of the "American Dream".

The first Americans were predominantly Europeans. There were Chinese and others too, but they seemingly adapted to the Euro-like cultures. Strange names were shortened, or anglicized, as they became the new Americans. This was the spirit and enterprise which built the most successful, powerful and admired country in the world.

Today America itself has become an "old country". Paradoxically, the nation of immigrants doesn't like immigrants. Especially in a down economy, old Americans are uncomfortable and resentful of immigrants who are seen as "taking their jobs". Often, immigrants are confused as being "illegal", even when they are not.

This resentment is not focused on just low-end jobs. As a case in point, consider why Indian immigrants seem to dominate in US Software/Hi-Tech companies, and why there is a xenophobic backlash against managers from India at Wonderware, a software company based in Southern California, part of Invensys. To understand the background, read the Invensys weblogs, link below.

1. Many Indian immigrants are engineers who came to the US for higher studies. Some came with a one-way ticket, a few dollars in their pocket, two suit-cases (one full of books and one with clothes) and a letter of acceptance from an American graduate school.
2. As these people were growing up (during the 1970s and 80s) their backs were pretty much to the wall - failure was not an option. Immigrant parents put a lot of value in education; their kids are driven to do well academically, and to work hard to succeed.
3. In Software (as in Medicine, count the number of Indian doctors in major hospitals) because of their educational and cultural background, these people kept rising to the top. Software requires engineers who spend long hours to learn and think - it's like Math, the more you practice the better you become.
4. Through hard work and good results, Indians started moving into marketing and senior management jobs at Wonderware. There were always lots of Indians working at lower levels; but as soon as they were promoted to higher levels of management, there was resentment. Why?

"All America needs to do is grant visas to two million Indians, Chinese and Koreans. They'll buy up all the sub prime homes, work 18 hours a day to pay for them, immediately improve the savings rate. (No Indian bank today has more than 2 percent non-performing loans because not paying your mortgage is considered shameful in India.) These immigrants will start new companies to create their own jobs and jobs for more Americans."

"America, please remember how you got to be the wealthiest country in history. It wasn't through protectionism, or state-owned banks or fearing free trade. No, the formula was very simple: build this really flexible, really open economy, tolerate creative destruction so dead capital is quickly redeployed to better ideas and companies, pour into it the most diverse, smart and energetic immigrants from every corner of the world."

• Immigration: The Living Mosaic of People, Culture, and Hope
• Invensys (Wonderware) weblogs
• Tom Friedman - The Open-Door Bailout
• The Impact of Immigration on American Society