A typical weekend conversation at our house goes something like this: “What do you feel like tonight? Ethiopian? Korean? Indian?”. “Oh, I don’t know — maybe Thai or Vietnamese.”

As you may have guessed, we’re talking about the bewildering array of exotic dining options we have in or near East Dallas or in the larger metropolitan area. Back in the mid-60s, when I was a kid growing up here, there was a handful of Mexican restaurants, a few Italian eateries and even fewer Chinese restaurants. That was it, Bubba — everything else was either barbecued or chicken-fried.

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Contrast that to the Dallas area today — not just all the different kinds of restaurants, cultural organizations, places of worship and others, but look around next time you go to the mall or to any large public event. I’m always amazed, and very pleasantly surprised, at how much Dallas has changed to include people from all over the world. In fact, I read the other day that about 11 percent (or one out of nine) of the people of Texas are foreign-born, about 2.2 million in all. The largest group, as you might expect, comes from Mexico, but the next two largest groups are from India and Vietnam.

For example, my wife, Patti, is teaching English as a Second Language at Richland College, and has in her class students from India, Mexico, Jordan, Vietnam, Iraq, Bangladesh and other places, all of them working hard to improve their English (not an easy language to learn) so they can further their educations and their job prospects. Some may have come here as refugees, others to get an education or improve their economic situation, but all seem to be eager to contribute something to their new home.

Of course, immigration to the Dallas area is about more than just opening up new and exotic-sounding restaurants. Anyone who’s seen the ubiquitous “now hiring” signs in every retail store and restaurant window knows that the Dallas area is as close to full employment as it’s ever been. In an economy where anyone who’s capable of holding some kind of job and wants to work is employed, demand rises for everyone from dishwashers and construction workers to medical doctors and engineers. Fortunately for us, people from all over the world see the opportunities here and come to our area to work, helping all of us by continuing to grow every sector of our economy from services to high tech.

As you’ve probably guessed, I’m definitely not one of those who feels threatened by all these “foreigners” coming to our area. After all, most of us have ancestors who were “foreigners” in this country at one time or another themselves. My observation is that the people who have come here from somewhere else are almost without exception practicing what we were taught to be the virtues of working hard, saving your money and getting as much education as you can.

We ought to continue to welcome these newcomers with open arms, and perhaps with more flexibility in our immigration laws. Not only do our city, state and country need their energy and talents to continue to grow and prosper, but a central part of our national identity is to be the place where, due to our political and economic freedom and social mobility, the most ambitious and freedom-loving the world over want to be.