Yeah, having birthright citizenship makes a huge difference, imo. I’m from the US, which is obviously not currently immigrant friendly, but at least had the veneer of such when I was growing up (at least from my childhood perspective), and it’s hard to tell whether birthright citizenship or the idea of an “immigrant nation” played a bigger role in the difference between the two.

Germany and England do have specific and individual cultures that are worth protecting, but cultural exchange doesn’t inherently destroy extant cultures and if you follow the roots of any tradition far back enough, you’ll find influences from outside cultures.

I don’t know exactly how to describe it, but I got a feeling similar to what I imagine compersion to feel like (I’m not poly) when I saw a group of women wearing full hijabs integrated into their Karneval costumes bringing their costumed kids to a Faschingsparade. It was such a clear image of cultural blending that I got a little sappy about it.