Yeah, but do you realize that that "hyphen" has only existed as something important for about 60 or 70 years? Yeah, there were Irish-Americans, Polish-Americans, Italian-Americans, et. al. (but, surprisingly, no Jewish-Americans or Muslim-Americans that I can remember) but that was only talking about family descent - they considered themselves "Americans" first. The more strongly we cling to our "hyphens" the less likely we are to find that mythical "acceptance" that we all claim to want in our society. How do you ever get to be "equal" to me (generically speaking) if you insist upon being as different from me as possible?
This ethnic balkanizing is a far cry from what "Negroes" were searching for in the 1950s and 1960s, and it has spread itself to other ethnic groups as well. It's all very well to grasp for political power - everyone does it to some extent - but when you do it with tactics that are polar opposite from what you claim you want, how will you ever be satisfied?
Why did it only exist as something important, for 60 or 70 years? Especially considering you used "Irish, Italian, and Polish-Americans," which I applaud you as those groups are noteworthy and the ones I would've chosen, myself.