I came across an excellent article by John Fonte.  Much of it speaks to the issue raised by the Troy resident who criticized the change in the City objective.  (See the blog entry... http://blog.dave.lambert.net/blog/_archives/2007/1/27/2689126.html ).

Here are some excerpts:

…At the level of highest principle civic conservatism emphasizes the Unum in E Pluribus Unum and puts American national cohesion over any group interest. The intellectual origins of civic conservatism can be traced to George Washington’s Farewell Address.

 

“Citizens by birth or choice, of a common country, that country has a right to concentrate your affections. The name American, which belongs to you, in your national capacity, must always exalt the just pride of Patriotism, more than any appellation derived from local discriminations.”

 

As Washington scholar Matthew Spalding of the Heritage Foundation puts it: “Above all, the Farewell Address directs the American regime toward Union, or unity, rather than diversity. America must be something more than a league of states or regions, a collection of various groups and interests.”

 

In terms of contemporary policy, civic conservatism emphasizes the following principles: the equality of American citizenship; the learning of America’s history and values, properly understood; the imperative of assimilating immigrants patriotically into the American way of life (what we proudly used to call Americanization); and the indivisibility of American sovereignty…

The entire article is at … http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=YjU3Nzg0ZDcyMDFhOGVmNzc4MWQxOTVlMDM0YzM2Njg=