U,S. 1 E
Cultural cross-fertilization is the foundation on which the United States sits and has sat for hundreds of years. It is the mixing of cultures (English, African, Scots-Irish, Native American, etc.) that inevitably occurs when different groups of people live in the same area. The United States became the breeding grounds for different cultures well before it was even created. This cultural diversity grew tenfold when the population of the colonies started to grow to become 1/2 the population of England. Groups other than the English started to migrate to the colonies, and these new cultures started to mix together to form a new American culture. This "cross-fertilization" of cultures has become what the U.S. is known for. Former ideas were primarily "Eurocentric," such as the thought that America is just an extension of Europe. However, recent ideas from historians suggest that America has brought about a new, unique culture. This is the opinion expressed in the article called "Varying Viewpoints: Europeanizing America or Americanizing Europe?" The author provides very good and well-explained reasons as to why this opinion is correct. Examples of this cultural cross-fertilizati
on can be found in society, even today. By being a 2nd generation American and the first member of my family to be a mix of heritages (German and Slovak), I'm a great example of the unique culture of America. When compared to my parents, I have some aspects of both of their cultures and I also have some added ones. Religion is something that was taken from one of my parents' cultures. My parents decided to go with my mother's religion, Roman Catholic, over my father's religion, Russian Orthodox, when raising my sister and I. Although the religions are close, there are some distinct differences such as the preparations for Easter and the role of Easter in the religion. When my father married my mother, he adopted some of their traditions, which have passed on to my generation. For example, almost every year we attend something like an October fest. We are also more "festive" than my father's family was. At least a portion of our family gathers every weekend. Food is another merge of cultures. The food we eat is a mixture of Slovak, German, American, and Italian food. Although we aren't Italian, it has become part of our diet because my family seems to enjoy it. We also eat foods unlike any nationality we are a part of at restaurants or prepared at home like Cuban, Japanese, Thai, Chinese, and Spanis
Some common words found in the essay are:
America Communities, Russian Orthodox, Overall American, Congress Consequently, Native American, Slovak I'm, Americanizing Europe, Eurocentric America, England English, Tea Party, conflict consensus, varying viewpoints, poor people, american culture, unique culture, founding fathers, cultural cross-fertilization,
Approximate Word count = 888
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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