Harry Reid Tells Us That Oil And Coal Makes Us Sick......

[Ron J]

I use the hyphen as well, Scots - Irish, but we are using that to describe heritage, not loyalty.
As to dual citizenship I know Israel extends citizenship to all Jews regardless of where they are from.
As far as US law I have no clue.

And no one should doubt that Tom and Desert Marine are anything but "always faithful".  I am tipping a cold beer to my southwest and east to honor your service at this moment! 

Issue that some have with hyphenating origin is that if you were naturally born in the USA from parents that are African/Irish/Chinese/Mexican/Swedish/German/Dutch … etc. you cannot “logically” claim that as “your origin” since your mother was in the USA when she “downloaded” you.  If you were born in a foreign land and then obtained US citizenship … you could possibly argue that you are a whatever-American.  If you were born here, claiming to be _______-American is not correct.  Not a matter of semantics, matter of logic.

The way I see it (and could be wrong) is that a lot of people use the term _____-American because it simply “flows” better in the English language. 

To this thread, screw Reid.  I am going back to toasting the United States Marine Corps.   

[DesertMarine]

In my case, using Mexican-American is pride in the origin of my ancestors.  Three of my grandparents were born in Mexico, one in Texas.  Being born in the racially divided Southwest and being classed as second-rate citizen because of skin color, we looked to our roots for identity and at that time Mexico had a lot to be proud of.  While there is still a lot of division due to skin color, we have progressed so much that it is great.  It is great to be in a country where people can call themselves whatever they want and speak whatever language they want.  If we restrict those rights we'll be just like all the single-minded people that cannot accept someone who has different beliefs and languages. 

Love my country and Corps.