I had the displeasure of riding the elevator with John Bolton once. It was the day of Trump's first speech before the UN General Assembly. Bolton was telling the men he was with that it was the most significant UN speech since WWII. That's when I first bothered to notice who would say something like that because up until then I was behaving like a sane person and ignoring my fellow elevator riders. He smirked at my raised eyebrow with an air of self importance and we got off the elevator, going our separate ways.
Bet you he feels betrayed today. Looking back, maybe he was right about the speech's significance.
It takes one generation to create an American. I grew up in Jackson Heights, Queens. I take the 7 train to work every day and see it with my own eyes. Its my lived experience. Very traditional immigrant parents with their first generation NYers in tow helping them navigate the world they've chosen to make their home. Just like with my Italian great grandparents who never spoke a complete sentence in English despite living here for over 75 years.