Immigration 2
Immigration has recently become a controversial topic in America. Some feel that immigration is necessary to keep up the diversity in America. In addition, it creates a stronger economic base because immigrants will produce more goods than they use as well as filling in the lower paid jobs we aren't willing to take. Others, like the right wing republicans, feel immigration is treading on thin ice. Indeed, they state that immigration is responsible for lower standards in our culture as a result of their values brought into our culture. In his article, "Immigrants and Family Values", Francis Fukuyama, states this is not the case. Fukuyama acknowledges we are suffering from a cultural decline, but immigrants are not the ones responsible for it. Rather, it is the "contemporary elite culture of Americans"(11) that is ultimately to blame. Fukuyama contends that liberal groups as well as conservatives criticize immigration. For example, the Sierra Club disagrees with immigration because it forces our country to expand economically in addition to just population growth thereby reducing the nation's resources faster and eventually bringing down the environment. He notes right wing nativist republicans, like Patrick J. Buchanan,
Buchanan's idea of America's identity is an older nativist one. This influx of different cultures to our nation gives rise to a more diverse multicultural state. This causes a negative impact in the eyes of Republicans for they fear the probable loss of votes. It is for these reasons that helped Buchanan take on his current anti-immigration posture. Furthermore Fukuyama observes, "Buchanan has explicitly attacked the notion that democracy represents a particularly positive form of government, and hence would deny that belief in universal democratic principles ought to be at the core of the American national identity"(2). His perception of our nation is largely Anglo-Saxon and founded in Christianity. Fukuyama feels it is the values that lie herein that Buchanan fears will be overtaken by immigration, thus reshaping America's identity. However, there are other arguments on what constitutes identity in America. "The real fight ought to be over the question of assimilation itself: whether we believe that there is enough to our Western, rational, egalitarian, democratic civilization to force those coming to the country to absorb its language and rules, or whether we carry respect for other cultures to the point that Americans no longer have a common voice with which to speak to one another"(9). The cultural decay we face is staggering. However, Fukuyama notes it is not the recent immigrants who we should find at fault. The culture and values they bring with them to our country is not responsible for deteriorating our American identity. It is our "contemporary elite culture of Americans"(11) that Francis Fukuyama holds to blame. It is America's recent idealistic, multicultural views that should be held accountable for changing our society. He believes: Crime and other social calamities of the Latino immigrant population have created a negative influence on America's whites. However, Fukuyama acknowledges "t
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1305
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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