America Culture
This topic is very intriguing to me; in order to understand the culture of America, you must first take a look at the actual history of America. Every event that took place in America seemed to either deal with control over land and economic stability, which directly corresponds to America's position as one of the World’s top powers. America doesn’t even take on the culture of its indigenous people as the modern society of the country is now very mixed and quite perplexed. There is no immediate culture America takes on is that it is notoriously known for being a melting pot of many different races and ethnicities. The culture of America, to an extent, can be summarized in the unalienable rights stated in the declaration of independence. One might also refer to the culture as ‘The American Dream”. The expression of patriotism is the true culture of the USA, along with the idea of being patriotic no matter the race, gender, or sex.
To understand the culture of America you must first understand how broad the reach of culture is; covering language and religion, to clothing and music. All these things pertain to one’s culture giving the United States a plethora of cultures to express as one nation. The reason for this is because the population of the country was built on immigration from other countries (Zimmerman). Without diversity America would’ve never stood for the right to equality for all that we know today, leaving the states to become a land lacking authenticity. Immigration to the states from countries like India, China, and Africa brought a different perspective on everyday life for Americans; the idea of so many different people now living in an unfamiliar place had never been introduced before.
One thing I feel really supports Americas Culture is the annual national Heritage months we dedicate to certain ethnicities, such as Black History Month and Spanish-American Month. There are also months for the LGBQ community, those of Asian/Pacific descent, native American descent and women as well. This shows our countries appreciation for differences in its citizens and embraces us to take a pride in who we are as individuals as a collective.
Hi Christopher,
ReplyDeleteYour argument I feel is very well-rounded and complete in its explanation, as you start with just how America came to be and merge into the immigrants that this country's been built upon, and America's current appreciation for practically all of its residents. Out of the posts I've read, quite a lot of them--including my own--refer to the United States being a "melting pot" of races, religions, and cultures, which broadens the horizon on what American culture actually is. I agree with you in the sense that immigrants have decreased American citizens' ignorance, and allowed them to have a different perspective on other cultures and people besides their own.
I did end up finding an article from Diversity Central that speaks on the specific celebration months you talk about (http://www.diversitycentral.com/calendar/heritagemonthguide.php), and I hope this could be of use to you!
Allison Miles
There is no doubt that America identity is perplexing! I agree with you on that. But what is "the expression of patriotism" mean, exactly? We've been fighting in America over that term for a decade now, it seems. And just look at the Patriot Act--an act meant to spy on American's activities for the "greater good." Now that doesn't seem very American to me. Which countries in Africa do you mean here in paragraph 2? And do we have heritage months for every ethnicity or culture? I like the idea of setting aside days/months to reflect/respect those whose contributions are often overlooked. It's interesting how all of this is evolving in America at present...
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