Should We Continue To Let A Hyphen Divide Americans?

While I am of Irish, English, Scottish and Welsh descent I AM AN AMERICAN!

The following is an excerpt from a Letter To The Editor dated January 18, 2013 from the JDNews in Jacksonville, NC.

"No labels — just an “American” without any ethnic name or hyphen preceding that word.

Still, if there are to be such folks, allow the word “American” always to come first, then the hyphen and whatever else one desires to write down.

Ethnic heritage and race are something to be proud of, yet none of us choose either one or our eye color, height, etc. But we do choose to either put “American” first or last in reference to the above and that applies to all colors of skin and ethnic backgrounds — the list is endless.

What’s the point? If one lives in this nation of ours then one is an American — race and ethnic roots not withstanding. Is not our nation called the United States of America? Rhetorical as it is, there are not other names in that quote or hyphens that literally separate two words and figuratively separate Americans yet only in the minds of those who utterly insist on preceding the word “American” with another word and a hyphen."

Should we continue to let a Hyphen divide Americans?