Compare this to, say, Norway, which is significantly more culturally homogeneous, so a sudden influx of a great number of immigrants would actually noticeably erode or at least dilute the native Norwegian culture.
- Pluralism
- A belief in the value of hard work
- A strong commitment to individual rights / individualism
- A certain degree of puritanism
- A belief in American Exceptionalism
- A belief that fairness should always be aspired to
- A fairly strong commitment to market capitalism
- A healthy dose of skepticism that government intervention is the solution to many problems
- A commitment that the "American Dream" is something that we should always strive to make real for everyone
If the Average American only holds 6 out of 10 of your imaginary Core American Values, what does it matter if we invite in a hundred million New Americans who also only hold 6 out of the 10, because they were from a different culture? Where is the assimilation problem?
(Also, "free market capitalism" and "skeptical of government intervention"? Really? Are you living in a bubble or just willfully pretending that the last 100 years of American history don't exist?)
This same claim gets made about Canada, and I always found it particularly offensive to anyone who isn't an immigrant with a foreign culture. It's a riduclous statement anyway. The south doesn't have their own culture? East vs west coast? Europeans were pointing out yesterday that Americans have different expectations for housing (bigger housing, suburbs), is that not a part of the culture?
Isn't the idea that we are welcoming to foreign cultures, and actively embrace multiculturalism a part of the culture?