“American society has often been described as a melting pot but in recent years it has also attracted other names such as tomato soup or tossed salad” (BBC news). Many say living or coming to America, deals with many challenges, some say America is very diverse. There are many cultures and races in America. Different people immigrate to America. While some people believe America is challenging it can be argued that America is diverse because of the many cultures and ethnicity’s. “New U.S. citizens wave American flags before being sworn in at a naturalization ceremony”, according to the picture in source 1. America is a melting pot and has many different cultures. Countless immigrate to America from all over so there are numerous different cultures in the Unites States. According to Notes of a Native Speaker it states, “America is white no longer and will never be white again” (source 2). Not everyone in America has white skin or white ancestors. There’s a variety of different races and cultures. We are a melting …show more content…
Good meaning, desired or approved of, having qualities of a particular role, or benefit or advantage of something. Which the U.S. does have many desires, advantages, and benefits as a country. Yet some may say coming to America can be challenging. Some tend to separate from individuality. According to “Aria: A Memoir of a Bilingual Childhood”, “Today I hear bilingual educators say that children lose a degree of individuality by becoming assimilated into public society” (source 3). They will think of themselves as an American, and not stay true to their original culture. According to A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry she states, “Someone who is willing to give up his own culture and submerge himself into the dominant, and this case oppressive culture” (source 4). That is assimilation which may be challenging to some people. Say if a kid grew up Spanish and now they need to learn American that can be
The ability for people to look at a situation from a different perspective is vital in today’s globalized society. Diversity is the most important core attribute we share that gives us a new perspective to assess situations differently through our diverse backgrounds and upbringings. Unlike Patrick J. Buchanan’s argument in his essay titled “Deconstructing America,” diversity is not a burden, but rather a necessity in America’s culture. Conversely, Fredrickson 's essay titled, “Models of American Ethnic Relations: A Historical Perspective,” illustrated a more precise version of American history that disproves Buchanan’s ethnocentric ideologies. Buchanan speaks of diversity as a narrow, one-way street. The imprecise interpretations of history
It is true that the more people from different cultures that are in a given area, the more the cultures are diversified. However, with all realities, some claim that immigrants dilute the American culture. Indeed, they cause some changes to the culture. Nevertheless, these changes can bring a wealth of attraction and a source of beauty for the country that everyone should be proud of. It is obvious that every single immigrant in the US has his own culture and way of life. When all these are added together, they form a very rich culture. In addition, they bring various interesting aspects such as food, music, literature, etc. That makes the Americans rich in cultural knowledge. The importance of cultural diversity is that it teaches the people to understand each other’s views, interests, and ideas and helps people view the world in different ways. This would finally lead the society to work towards each other’s interest, mutual goals, and objectives. Tamar Jacoby in his article “Are Today’s Immigrants Assimilating in U.S Society, Yes,” he said that, “Those who are coming now are people who understand cultural fluidity, understand intermarriage and find that a natural, easy thing. This maintains unity and balances in the society” (411). Once this stage is reached, all the problems would be solved. Then it can be said that America has reached a true democracy, echoed by
This essay will discuss the intrinsic relationship between diversity conceptualization and social integration presenting a response against David Brooks’ essay entitled “People Like Us.” In order to do this I will discuss four crucial elements: the influences of different definitions of diversity in cultural unification, Brook’s ideas about social groups working together and social groups coexisting together, the importance of diversity, and the influence of diversity in social changes. I will examine why some people have the perception that our American society ignore or see as unworthy diversity. Thus, I will dispute Brook’s view stating that our society disregards diversity, and Americans just pretend that it is important to them.
Immigrants were first welcomed in the late 1700s. European explorers like Walter Raleigh, Lord Baltimore, Roger William, William Penn, Francis Drake, John Smith, and others explored to the New World for religious purposes and industrial growth. The first European settlers that settled in the late 1700s were the Pilgrims. After the Pilgrims first settled in Virginia, the expansion of immigrants started. Then in 1860 to 1915, America was growing with its industries, technology, and education. America’s growing empire attracted many people from Europe. The factors that attracted many people to the American cities where job opportunities with higher income, better education, and factory production growth. As the population grew in the American
America was widely known as a “melting pot” of sorts for many generations. The country earned its title by accepting immigrants of various cultures and molding, or melting, them into the American lifestyle. However, the “melting pot” idea of America is starting to dissipate. According to a Newsweek Poll on the public, “only 20 percent still think America is a melting pot” (Morganthau and Wolfberg, par.4). As more Americans push away immigrants and create stereotypes against said immigrants, America continues to lose its title as a “melting pot.” There is ethnic friction in America and people have begun to have a hard time assimilating (Morganthau and Wolfberg, par.18). .America is beginning to place a negative outlook on its culture. Authors Jack Shaheen, Richard Rodriguez, Peter Marin and Zora Neale Hurtson all shape American culture in a detrimental way.
There are hundreds of different ethnicities that make up the population in the United states, so it’s no surprise that at time different cultural groups rub off on each other
“You are in America, speak English.” As a young child hearing these words, it did not only confuse me but it also made me question my belonging in a foreign country. As a child I struggled with my self-image; Not being Hispanic enough because of my physical appearance and not being welcomed enough in the community I have tried so hard to integrate myself with. Being an immigrant with immigrant parents forces you to view life differently. It drives you to work harder or to change the status quo for the preconceived notion someone else created on a mass of people. Coming to America filled me with anxiety, excitement, and even an unexpected wave of fear.
For centuries, migrating has been a life changing decision for people that choose to enter the United States in search of a better future. Therefore, immigration is the permanent residency of people that choose to move to a new country. There are debates concerning the immigrants who enter the United Stated illegally and as the daughter of immigrant parents, I am fortunate to be born in this country.
Students attending American schools are taught clearly about the United States’ image as a melting pot; however, there is evidence to support that, while there is not an official federal stance on the matter (Sengupta), the amount of assimilation required to be legitimately considered a “melting pot” is not being reached. Although similar, there is often confusion about the differences between “multicultural” and “assimilated” communities. By definition, assimilation is the complete “merging of cultural traits from previously distinct culture groups” (Dictionary), while multiculturalism is delineated as the “preservation of different cultures or cultural identities within a unified society, as a state or nation” (Dictionary). Early to mid-1900’s America entertained the idea of a melting pot, where people from all parts of the world would join together and assimilate. It seems, however, that the growing trend has been to treat America as more of a “salad bowl” (Porter), in that people are joining together but instead of merging as one unit, are maintaining a majority, if not all, of their primary culture with little attempt to adapt. This underachievement has left America to unintentionally become a multicultural society. The clear differentiation between expectation and reality brings vast amounts of controversy among the nation’s people.
Among every other country in the world, the United States of America is where people feel the most comfortable place to come and live a better life. Immigrants are people who leave their counties to reside in other counties that are rich and safe to better themselves. Every year people immigrate to the USA for many reasons. Many people are having difficulty living in their native country such as over population, jobless which make the economy so hard. People from outside of the United States think there is peace, love, equality, free education, jobs, good food to stay healthy, but most importantly freedom of speech to express yourself in America. Today, I will only focus on some reasons why people in my country immigrates to America. This is
prosperous from its diversity, epitomizes the "American Melting Pot". It is complicated to relate such different backgrounds, but with an overview of history, culture, religion, and integration on a small scale, a reader is capable of applying the values to the American culture as a whole.
The beauty is that we even share cultures day to day and speak different languages. There is an enormous variety amongst ourselves and there has to be a place here in the states for anyone to enjoy. Immigration policies can utterly destroy all of this and ruin the authentic mixture of cultures the states are known for. “The ethnic, religious, and cultural diversity brought by immigrants in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries has shaped American history and politics.”
Diversity is what built America. This is supported by John F. Kennedy’s “ The Immigrant Contribution from A Nation of Immigrants” and Anna Quindlen’s “A quilt of a Country” essay dictons. Both of Quindlen’s diction characteristics are abstract and sophisticated, while John F. Kenney’s diction characteristics are concrete and abstract.
America today is more accurately portrayed with a salad bowl metaphor than a melting pot. The melting pot metaphor implies that all the ingredients are combined and create a homogenous mixture (the same everywhere); the salad bowl illustrates that while we all contribute to the flavor each ingredient is still its own. As Joel Swerdlow illustrated in his article “Changing America”, “10 percent of America’s 281 million residents were born in other countries, the largest percent in U.S. history”(Swerdlow). I believe the large number of immigrants coming to America directly shows that people around the world want the freedoms that America has to offer. However, they are able to maintain their individual identity throughout their pursuit for that freedom. Being an “American” means you have the freedom to choose your own life. Being an “American” is about embracing the diversity of all cultures while feeling that they all belong to the same nation.
The age old question that many ask today is “what is an American?” America is continued to be called the “melting pot” of the world. This statement refers to the combination of different cultures and ethnicities throughout the United States. The diversity of America should not take away from the history and foundation it was found upon. ...