Individuality
“The nation’s immigrants are adopting American ways just as quickly as they were in 1990 despite a doubling in their numbers,” said Haya El Nasser. Today there are almost 40 million immigrants in the United States. About half of those are Mexicans and other groups of Latin Americans, who are assimilating quite slowly(Nasser). Immigrants tend to try as hard as they can to move up the economic ladder. To be able to live in the United States and fit in it’s very important you speak the English language, dress similarly so you don’t stand out and deal with being criticized for your race and just being “different.” Now this doesn’t happen to every illegal immigrant, but it is something that is very common. To be a citizen is a privilege and if you get that opportunity you must take it. Although, assimilation is wrong and I don’t blame one person for being upset about it. Everyone wants the opportunity to be an American citizen. In Elizabeth Martinez’s writing she specifically talks about what everyone calls “The American Dream”, this is something almost everyone wants, but can’t always get.
How many official languages do you think we have in the whole world? Let me tell you I was shocked to know that today there are over 7,000 living languages. Now not every single one of these languages is spoken by a ton of people, but they are still spoken by in small groups. I also couldn’t believe when I looked up the most popular language and saw it wasn’t English. English is in the top three with 312-380 million, but Chinese is first with 882 million, followed by Spanish with 325 million(Rosenberg). This is a big sign that English isn’t the most dominant language. Just because it may be the most popular in the U.S., doesn’t mean we can forget about the rest of the world. Many people know they are American, but might not know where there heritage really came from. Everyone comes from a specific culture; it’s just a matter of finding out from where. No two people are exactly alike; everyone has their own uniqueness that they show.
In Elizabeth Martinez’s writing she discusses the “English Only” laws and how bilingual education shouldn’t be allowed (Inquiry 210). It is important as Americans that we multicultural because of all the different people out there. With the rise in diversity and the expansion of more immigrants coming to America it is very important we are bilingual. If we can speak more than one language, that’s hundreds of more people we will be able to communicate with. Also, having our children speak more than one language is very important as they will know about different cultures as well. Children are the next generation and need to be able to carry on their culture before they forget completely. I’d like to give you an example of what being multicultural really is in America today.
My boyfriend’s parents both were born in the beautiful country of Greece on a small island named Kalymnos. They were very sheltered and didn’t know much other than what Greece had to offer. When they met and married by the age of 18, they set out and decided to travel to America. They were very determined to become American citizens and start a family there. They did just that and today are raising three children in America. Does that mean they have to forget about where they came from in Greece? Absolutely not, they all can speak English, but as a family at home, they all speak Greek. They have taught me that you can be both and still be able to fit in where you live. They still believe in their culture and practice everything that they ever believed in.
To be able to speak fluently two different languages is something to be proud of. It’s definitely not easy and is something that takes a lot of work. His mother works at a bank and on her name tag it says I speak Greek. You would be surprised that when people see that, they instantly feel like they have someone to communicate with easily. You have to be able to communicate with your customers and if they don’t speak English and can’t understand you, you can bet they will go somewhere else. With that being said I believe as long as you can speak English like the majority of people, you should have the freedom to speak your own language too; without getting any grief from anyone.
Let’s talk about something else I think is a really big issue. What is being taught in our school systems? There are so many different cultures out there and we have no idea that half of them even exist. We should be able to talk about what kind of culture we are from. We should proud that we all believe in different customs. We can be proud to be Americans and happy that we have our freedom, but you shouldn’t have to forget where we really came from. Author Ada Maria Isasi-Diaz talked about how the big problem is that in this country there is only one way of American life that exists. By saying that, it means that people aren’t very opened minded. Most Americans are very opinionated and not the most welcoming to other cultures. I think that we need to form a new identity just like Elizabeth Martinez was discussing. We have the stereotypical beautiful homes and white picket fences, but that’s not really what it’s like. Life isn’t perfect and people are discriminated against daily because of who they really are. Whatever happened to being different and wanting to stand out? It’s not a bad thing; it’s showing you’re able to fit in your own way. People are often considered outsiders because they look different because they came from somewhere that is unknown to us. If people would just take a minute out of there day step in someone else’s shoes and learn a little bit about their life, I think they would appreciate there’s much more.
“It is only within our own culture that Hispanics can acquire a sense of belonging, of security, of dignity and of participation, said Ada Maria Isasi-Diaz.” Can you imagine even what it would be like to live somewhere that you really felt you didn’t belong. You weren’t welcomed and you just felt out of place. Diaz clearly says that the more and more the United States tries to get culture to disappear, the more problems they are going to have (Inquiry 42). I couldn’t agree more on this because you should not have to forget who you are to live somewhere. This is a free country or at least that’s what they tell us. I’d have to say after writing this paper and reading these short stories, I’m beginning to question what being a citizen really means in the United States.
Works Cited
Martinez, Elizabeth. "From Reinventing America: Call for a New National Identity" From Inquiry to Academic Journal (2008): 209-213. Print.
Nasser El Haya. “Study: Some Immigrants Assimilate Faster” USA TODAY. May 13, 2008. Newspaper.
Isasi-Diaz, Ada. “Hispanic in America: Starting Points” From Inquiry to Academic Journal (2008): 40-42. Print.
Rosenberg, Matt. “Most Popular Languages” About.com Geography. (2011) Website.
