In discussing multiculturalism in the United States throughout the duration of this semester, I have mentioned many times that we are a nation founded on the basis of immigration. It always came to a question of whether or not the incoming populations were capable of being “American” – first it was the Germans, then the Chinese, then the Irish and the Eastern Europeans. Today we have the same expectation for Latino Americans and Muslims – are they worthy to be part of our country?
The truth is, there is nothing that differentiates one person, immigrant or not, from being more “American” than the other. The United States is a country that thrives on diversity by bringing together a plethora of races, cultures, and religions from all around the world. There are so many heritages that make up this country, with each culture making up an irreplaceable contribution to the overall American culture.
In his book entitled, The Culture of Narcissism, author Christopher Lasch describes that the traditional American culture of individualism has developed into somewhat of a “narcissistic and self-absorbed” society. He argues that as a whole, the American society demands cultural assimilation and that people coming into the country should adopt “mainstream ways” in order to reach social acceptance.
I already mentioned many times before about the political issue surrounding the topics of Lasch’s book. In my first blog post, I mentioned the term “melting pot” and its multiple definitions. Throughout the semester I wrote about how the United States is pushing to a single, defined culture that can apply to everyone living here. I wrote about immigration reform, interracial marriage, and the issue of making English the official language. For my last blog post, I would like to highlight the things that take place in the United States that defy the “mainstream assimilation” and allow individual cultures to retain their identity while they are here in the United States. We already see this throughout the year with the people around us celebrating different holidays. It’s almost like bringing a piece of another country to the United States, and it brings cultural heritage to light.
The Filipino Sinulog is an annual festival that takes place in Cebu City in the Philippines. An American adaptation has been brought to the United States by Filipino Americans (including my family) with a Summer Sinulog taking place every August in Olde City, Philadelphia.
Each year in the summer, the Hopi Indians perform a rain dance, which was once used as a prayer for rain during the summer’s dry season. Now, the Hopis still perform the dance every year in order to preserve the tradition.
Irish Fest in Chicago takes place annually every July, showcasing the finest Irish-American music, dance, food, and family activities. The festival lasts for three days and has been around for 28 years.
The Armenian Genocide Walk takes place every year in April in Philadelphia. Thousands of Armenians from the Northeast gather together on this day to walk in honor of the 1.5 million Armenians killed in the Armenian Genocide.
Garba is a traditional Hindu festival in India that mainly showcases the Garba dance. There are many Garba festivals that take place around the United States, including high schools and even at Penn State! PSU Spring Garba – https://www.facebook.com/events/1377843395831007/?notif_t=plan_user_invited
And I would like to close out my final civic issues blog with the same question I ended my first blog post with, and now you can decide what the answer will be:
Is the United States melting pot under the basis that we should all assimilate into one? Or, instead, are we forever a salad, made of different toppings and textures with distinct dividing lines?
sources:
http://cis.org/renshon/politics-of-recognition
http://www.worldandi.com/specialcollection/special-collection-diversity.asp
All images courtesy of Google Images
Wow, this was great. Also, that wasn’t supposed to sound sarcastic, I know it kind of did.
Really, I love this civic blog because it almost doesn’t feel like a civic blog.
I love the points you make and think you have a lot of good research.
I think that America is a place created through many different traditions of many different people. Through that logic I think it only makes sense to have a united country without a care for race, religion, or any other socially constructed idea that separates us.
Have a great year and good luck with everything you do.
–K.E. Van Develde
I think that the huge diversity in cultures really makes America a great place. To address your ending question I think tolerance and acceptance of all cultures is very important but we cant necessarily assimilate into one. People from other cultures are different and will form strong communities with people similar to them and that’s fine. As long as people don’t discriminate against each other.
This is a really cool final post because it specifically highlights many aspects of separate cultures that come together in order to form our country. I knew of some of these ceremonies that occurred, but not all (so it’s really interesting to learn and see each piece of the mixed salad that more closely resembles America).
I like to think this is what is so great about America, it’s diversity. We have so many cultures and I think that is what this country is about. It’s awesome to be able to express our cultures with parades, festivals, etc. I think America will always be a melting pot because of how many cultures truly reside here.