“To become an American citizen, we require people to read, write and speak in English. That is to help them assimilate in our melting pot, truly to become Americans. We mock that when the cherished right to vote does not involve English anymore.” (Ernest Istook) Assimilation is defined as the characteristics of members of immigrant groups and host societies come to resemble one another. So, imagine if a mass migration of British people immigrated to the United States and insisted that Americans integrate their tradition of driving on the left side of the road, rather than converting to the American preference of the right side. Imagine the chaos that would cause? Should Americans compromise there way of life to accommodate foreigners? Well, …show more content…
Is there an advantage to immigrants who assimilate? Greater assimilation into American culture increases benefits to society. Benefits such as innovative ideas, entrepreneurship, and business to markets enhance America’s ability to trade and invest in the global economy. According to Peter Salin, author of Assimilation, American style, he states that “Immigrants would be welcome as full members in the American family if they agreed to abide by three simple precepts” (Skerry 1) meaning that in order for immigrants to advance economically in the United States, they must become “American" in order to conquer their culture deficits. For example, immigrants must not only learn, but accept English as the common and national language, live by what is referred to as the protestant work ethic which means being independent, hard working and living morally right, and taking value in their new American identity and believing in America’s democratic principles. These are the steps needed in order to be considered fully
Back to the American history, "assimilation" policy was introduced to the Native Americans during the earliest colonial times. During that time, all American Indians must either adopt the White's lifestyles or perish. With the declaration of the Dawes Act, a goal of destroying all tribal structure and their communal life were summoned. Tribal lands were divided among natives and the Westerners, leaving the natives, a land surrounded by the foreigners. With such acts, the American Indians were slowly assimilated into the White's culture and without their own people around them, they will have to communicate with the Westerners with their language instead of their indigenous languages; they ...
He, in addition feels as if bilingualism in teaching immigrants is an anti-assimilation ideology, because the bilingual studies program tend to plummet and fall behind, rather than someone who is taught in multiple subjects than just English on its own. In the article, he states “Multiculturalism is explicitly and self-consciously directed towards nurturing an acute sense of ethnic grievance and victimization among the children of ethnic minorities, with ethnic minorities narrowly defined as encompassing black, Latinos, and American Indians.” He feels that the
Folklores are stories that have been through many time periods. Folklore include Legends, Myths, and Fairy Tales. Legends are traditional tales handed down from earlier times and believed to have a historical basis. Myths are ancient stories dealing with supernatural beings, ancestors, or heroes. Fairy Tales are fantasy tales with legendary being and creators.
Our country is acclaimed for its endless ability to integrate. Whether it occurred in the early 1900s when desegregation occurred in Topeka middle school, or how we have integrated every nationality to every ethnicity and have been renown as the melting pot. In every aspect of how our country has come to what we know as United States, there is a simple integration that occurred to create what we are today. Assimilation is a positive force when it is necessary, it is needed in our companies, to our marriages, and we alongside the media are the causes of these types of assimilation; Americans tendency for assimilation will remain a beneficiary factor so long as we do not loose our individuality in the process.
Coming to America is one of the greatest milestones that deeply impacted my identity. Coming to an unknown land, I have experienced the struggle of adapting to the American culture and gaining access to its opportunities due to my language barrier. As a result, I did not have the choice but to assimilate myself into the American culture by learning it’s language and adjusting to its social norms.
A subculture can consist of any small group outside the central or key majority group. The groups can range from an organized crime group, to an Asian American group, to a religious group, to even a hippie commune. The main focus of this unit is the immigrant subcultures. The immigrant subculture that is becoming more commonplace every day in the United States is the Mexican Americans. Mexican Americans have many religious traditions, ceremonies, customs, as well as art and music forms. There are also various cultural traditions. Mexican Americans have their own identity on the contrary they still have distinct American characteristics.
It is obvious American culture has changed drastically over time. American culture today is a lot different than it was one hundred, fifty , even twenty years ago. Styles, music, entertainment, and technology have all altered significantly. There are many people that influence our culture with their new talents, ideas, and personalities. During the 1930’s, your go-to girl for a good movie would be Judy Garland. With her diverse talents and unique beauty, she was always a sight to see on screen,she symbolized American culture back then. Nowadays, one could relate Judy Garland to Demi Lovato. Demi is one of the most diverse celebrities in the entertainment business today. Just like Judy, she also had a difficult time with being in the spotlight which led to self harming substances. Judy Garland and Demi Lovato was/is a big part of American Culture. They have many similarities but are very different at the same time. This is why they are perfect examples of how American culture has changed majorly over the past 100 years.
Immigration and assimilation is a divisive topic that has been heavily debated in America ever since we became a country. There are two stories that explore the assimilation issue from different viewpoints’; in Mary Pipher’s story; “The Beautiful Laughing Sisters – An Arrival Story”; provides the viewpoint of immigrants leaving a hostile home for America. Elizabeth Wong details her journey to break with her culture and become Americanized in, “The Struggle to be an all American girl.” and (McWhorter, 2010 pp522-529). At debate today is whether immigrants and their families should blend into American culture even if it means breaking with their past. Once cultures intermingle, they are forever changed.
Cultural norms play a function in the way individuals view the world. Although, some individual’s experience social dilemmas between their heritage and being American. As United States citizens, individuals should go beyond ethnicity and see everybody as an American. America was established by immigrants from all over the world, which turned the nation into a collage made of a number of diverse cultures. With these different cultures come the laws and religions that govern their behavior. In, Mind Reading an Anthology for Writers by Gary Colombo presents a number of remarkable essays on cultural customs. In “Hidden Culture” by Edward T. Hall, he describes culture as well as, how an individual’s culture effects their capability to understand another person’s cultural customs. In “Mrs. Cassadore” by Mick Fedullo, explains his life experience while educating the Apache students on the reservation. Fedullo overcomes cultural obstacles. Fedullo helps his students to realize that it is acceptable to be Apache. Fedullo teaches his students that one should never transform who they are. “The Self and Society: Changes, Problems, and Opportunities by Roy F. Baumeister make use of labels to explain selfhood. Baumeister discuss the history of selfhood to rationalize selfhood. For example, how changes in the society and culture affect selfhood. Two other articles that give some insight on American culture are “A Quilt of a Country” by Anna Quindlen, and “Communication In A Global Village” by Dean Barnlund. Culture is something people are born into. The way people view culture is how they are raised around it. Throughout history, our country has experienced social revolutions. When there are social revolutions, bringing about structural...
Anxiety and affluence are terms that are often applied to the post war decades in an attempt to define them. The newfound wealth that Americans enjoyed after World War II wrought changes on the American social landscape that many may not have been able to predict. The push for heavy consumerism that accompanied the sudden upswing of the U.S. economy gave way to concerns about the decay of moral character in the American home. Increasingly filled with anxieties over the ever-present threat of Communism, which most Americans were aware was an issue they themselves could do little about, the population instead turned towards new distractions, such as television, to attempt to reclaim some sense of dominance in a world they no longer quite recognized. The failure of the device to soothe the nerves of anxious Americans can easily serve as a symbol for any case in which American prosperity increased, rather than alleviated, post war fears.
The United States of America is a strong country with its own general culture. At the same time, it is a country in which many unique and different cultures are represented. Having a general culture with many unique cultures mixed in has helped make America the country that it is. Immigrants should assimilate to American culture, but should be allowed to keep certain aspects of their original culture.
Since the creation of the United States of America, immigrants from all backgrounds have sought refuge, a home and a life in this country of prosperity and opportunity. The opportunity of freedom to exercise natural rights is a large pull factor that causes many people to come to America. Others come because it is a country where one can prosper. Prosperity of people in a country, however, is a more challenging phenomenon to explain than opportunity. Immigrants seek economic, social and educational as well as cultural prosperity. The question of how to gain such prosperity is a difficult one to answer. Some immigrants come to America, cast off their past identity and attempt to find a new, less foreign one. By assimilating to American culture with this new identity, they start a long and treacherous journey to seek prosperity in a land vastly different from the one they once called home. Many will gain educational, economic and social prosperity, but never gain cultural prosperity. Assimilating to American culture so hastily, some immigrants are never able to explore and keep up with their cultural backgrounds. Their families grow up and became Americans, never cognizant of their given up ethnic identities. Those immigrants, however, who are able to gain cultural prosperity through the help of other immigrants of their respective background, become integrated into American society while keeping their ethnic identity. This is the sort of opportunity that the United States of America has provided new arrivals since its founding. Although many immigrants become overwhelmed with American culture and assimilate into it, those who contribute to a working ethnic society are able to dela...
One of the most important concepts that I have learned from class is Assimilation Theory. This theory is based on the adaptation that a certain ethnic group goes through in order to fit in and survive in the new dominant society. For example, according to the book the United States in known to be a predominantly white cultural society, therefore many ethnic groups from all over who choose to come to the U.S often have to assimilate and adapt to the social and cultural norms. Assimilation theory affects many ethnic groups in sense that it can change the way they behave and live in a society. Whenever another ethnic group immigrates to a place where there is a dominant ethnic group they often have to assimilate to the dominant group’s social, economic, and cultural behaviors and customs to survive. For example in the U.S, there are many minority groups from all over the globe who immigrated to this country and they often have to go through various changes and adaptations to fit into society and gain citizenship in the country. These changes can be a challenge for them because they have to choose between their own cultural values, beliefs, and behaviors and assimilate to the U.S’ cultural values and customs. In the book it states that “their cultural ancestry is English, Scottish, Dutch and German which is the Anglo-Saxon core.” Therefore, the culture that immigrants in the U.S. have to adapt to is the Anglo-Saxon culture/ “American culture.” For most minorities immigrating to the U.S, one of the major factors that affected them is language barrier. In the United States English is the dominant language, many ...
Culture is a part of everyone's life, whether we choose to express it in our everyday lives or to just be aware of its presence. A major part of one's culture is a defining language. The topic of assimilation versus multiculturalism directly relates to culture in America, and even more specifically to the power of language in American culture. Since language is the basis of communication I think that all immigrants must assimilate to a certain degree by speaking English, while preserving their heritage if they choose to do so.
Many people come to the United States for change. Change they think will be given to them the moment they step foot on U.S soil, which happens to be incorrect. There is a process to undergo before an individual is able to experience change. A process which occurs once they allow it to begin. Cultural assimilation is “a process by which members of an ethnic minority group lose cultural characteristics that distinguish them from the dominant cultural group or take on the cultural characteristics of another group” (medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com). It is challenging to begin, that is why when deciding on weather or not to assimilate, “people usually weigh the benefits and costs” (Konya 2). For example, parents usually assimilate even if it “imposes very large costs for them, because they want the best for their children” (Konya 2). But, there are still ethnic groups that assimilate into American society at much lower rates than others because they refuse to until they finally decide to later in their lives. To be more specific, there is evidence to support that Mexicans in Los Angeles, CA are assimilating at lower rates than any other race: “Now, a new study lays bare what sociologists and others have long argued: Mexican immigrants are assimilating to life in the United States less successfully than other immigrants” (Schulte 1). The Madonnas of Echo Park by Brando Skyhorse portrays the terrible effects caused by the slow cultural assimilation of Mexicans in Los Angeles compared to other races. These effects such as poor income and daily struggles can be seen through Felicia Esperanza and remarks made by Freddy Blas as well as Efren Mendoza.