Diversity
For years America has been considered a "melting pot" containing people of all backgrounds who have come to this land to make a new start as one. The promise of America was the promise of equal opportunity - regardless of class, religion or ethnic origin. "However, Native Americans had been forced off to reservations, African Americans left the segregated South to find themselves living in the segregated inner cities of the North. Many Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, and Cubans were living in Spanish-speaking neighborhoods with strong ties to their own culture." (laGuardia 84) Perhaps a "mosaic" would be a more apt description of the United States with different particles fitted together in a larger pattern as a whole. In Anna Quindlen's short story, "The Mosaic vs. The Myth," she gently shows the reader that "it is foolish to forget where you came from." (Quindlen 86) Almost every American has ancestral roots from another place on the planet. Quindlen discusses the ethnic differences of Ms. Miller's third grade class to show how America has changed and is changing. However, some things have not changed through the generations.
The United States has become somewhat more accepting over the years as perceptions of people have changed but we are still inflexible to change our previous ideas about culture, race, and gender. The gender aspect is revealed in the novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, as Janey is suppressed and expected to conform to Joe's idea about what a wife should be like. Joe says a "woman's place is in the home." (Hurston 40) 4. Milk, Harvey. "A City of Neighborhoods." American Voices: Culture and Community. Ed. Dolores la Guardia and Hans P. Guth. Mouhntain View, CA: Mayfile Publishing Co., Third Edition, 1998. 113-117. Some Americans seemed to have forgotten their heritage, or are just ashamed of the past. Many find the newcomers as a threat to mainstream American culture. Perhaps it is viewed as a threat to America if foreigners can compete almost "too well" as portrayed in the short story "Legion Bars Immigrant From Scholars' Camp," by Dirk Johnson. Pang Thao, an outstanding student, who's "resume sparkled above the rest," (Johnson 88) was rejected by the camp because she was not a citizen of the United States. Although she has lived in the United States since she was two months old and will be a citizen in the matter of months, "rules are rules." Americans complain with stereotypes of newcomers getting more welfare, not paying taxes, and are not loyal to America. But there seems to be an even greater tragedy portrayed in this story of Pang Thao. Many Americans have been caught up in a conceded notion that they are superior to these other people. Some people believe "that being born in the United States is a virtue." (Johnson 90) Although they are mixture of all kinds of races and creeds they have no sense of who they really are. They have forgotten their past and are in danger of losing it forever. "The difference between an "American" and newcomer is the color of skin and background. And many times that is it." (Johnson 90) 2. Johnson, Dirk. "Legion Bars Immigrant from Scholars Camp." American Voices: Culture and Community. Ed. Dolores la Guardia and Hans P. Guth. M
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1422
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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