Imigration

5 Pages 1202 Words

In the 1800’s and the early 1900’s, some people named America “the melting pot”. Thousands and thousands of immigrants from around the world were coming into the United States in hope of a better life. Most people imagined that all these different cultures were being poured into a giant pot called America, heated to a low boil and molded into one kind of person. If one steps back and thinks about this theory, it is not entirely true. In fact, it is not really true at all. If one takes a closer look at America today, one sees millions of people labeled Americans but not by how they act, what religions they practice and what kind of food they eat but where they are born. Many recent US immigrants try to keep their individual ethnic identity because it is a helpful tool in learning about their ancestors. At the same time they also understand that learning some aspects of American culture is very vital.
Nowadays, even within gateway cities that give the outward appearance of being multicultural. When describing the ethnic diversity of a bellwether mega city such as Los Angeles, many residents speak of the great mosaic of many people. Anna Quindlen, in her essay “Making the Mosaic”, states that all Americans are part of the mosaic, which is far from being complete. According to Quindlen the real American is “a pilgrim with a small ‘p’”. Being an American does not mean being white and having ancestors from the original thirteen colonies, but rather being multi-ethnic. Many Americans have mixed nationality or were born in America as a second generation of some ethnic group. In other words, most of us Americans are immigrants from one country or another. Some of us fell into the definition of “melting pot”, but most of us are trying to keep our own ethnic identity. When my family immigrated to America from Russia, we were so scared that we would not fit in that we decided to learn American language and traditions. U...