I just proved that I was not born in America, that I have a foreign language as my first language. That I know traditions and culture of another nation, that I see American culture from a different perspective. Does not mean that I am not American, does not mean that I dont celebrate all the same holidays. What it does mean is that I have a different perspective, that I appriciate the achievements and contributions made to this country by these so called "hypenated" Americans. Like the Brooklyn Bridge builder who was a German-American, the Serb-American Nikola Tesla, the Jewish-American Joseph Pulitzer and list goes on and on. Thats the bueaty of this country, its a melting pot of ideas and opportunities.
Sometimes even a smart man is wrong, Teddy was wrong about "hypenated" Americans.