Chenyuan Snider, a Chinese immigrant and professor, argues in an op-ed that America's greatness stems from its Judeo-Christian roots and assimilated immigrants. She warns that multiculturalism threatens this foundation, advocating instead for a multiethnic society requiring cultural assimilation. Snider draws from her personal experiences to highlight differences between Western and non-Western cultures.
Chenyuan Snider, raised in Communist China and now a professor at Christian colleges in Northern California, shares her perspective on American culture in a Daily Wire op-ed. She attributes the nation's success to its political and economic systems rooted in Judeo-Christian beliefs, noting that 53 of the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence were Christians. Snider quotes Thomas Jefferson: “God who gave us life gave us liberty” and endowed citizens “with certain unalienable rights.”
Snider credits early immigrants from Western countries, influenced by similar Christian values, for fostering prosperity and virtues like honesty and independence without major cultural clashes. She points to a shift with the Hart-Celler Act, signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson on October 3, 1965, which ended the “country-of-origin” quota system favoring Western immigrants. This law, influenced by the civil rights movement, increased immigration from non-Western regions and contributed to multiculturalism.
The author distinguishes multiculturalism—co-existence of irreconcilable cultures—from multiethnic societies united by core beliefs like freedom and Christian principles. She describes her own assimilation after immigrating, appreciating American freedoms such as open expression and rule of law, contrasting them with group-based dynamics and corruption in her Chinese upbringing. Snider argues cultures differ in behavioral patterns, with Western ones condemning corruption while some non-Western ones tacitly accept it.
Referencing a Somali fraud case in Minnesota exposed by Nick Shirley, Snider blames policies enabling mass non-Western immigration without assimilation for allowing cultural incompatibilities to persist, potentially leading to outcomes like those in Turkey and Egypt, where Christian majorities were overtaken by Islam. She quotes Alexis de Tocqueville: “America is great because she is good. If America ceases to be good, America will cease to be great.” Snider urges immigrants to prioritize American values while retaining positive ethnic elements, warning that multiculturalism poses an existential threat.
