A Different Way to Think

American society has progressed a lot over time and whether you like it or not, the meaning of being an American has changed along the way.  Gone are the days of the melting pot, replaced with the days of the quilt.  People no longer want to merge their culture into American culture these days it seems.  Rather, we all want to be a part of America, yet retain our individualism.  At the same time that we segregate ourselves into communal cliques in different sections of the city.  We allow our culture to dictate our economic status and our political beliefs rather than our political beliefs and status deciding our culture. 

The problem with America is we don’t believe in the things that made us what we are anymore and one of the signs is the fact that we are so fragmented.  At first we were a nation of rebellion where people were proud to remember their heritage and become Americans.  Now we are more proud of our heritage than we are of America.  It’s a sad change but one that has to be dealt with.  Our latest imigrants, hispanics are carving our their niche in little Havanas and little Mexicos everywhere.  And we revolt saying that their being here is threatening to us as Americans.  The ultimate in contradiction in that we claim to be a progressive nature, yet take such a hard stance against immigrants.  We again are against that which made us what we are.  Hard working people looking to make a better life for themselves and their families in OUR country. 

What is the point of this rant?  I implore you to think about how this country should be.  Should we remain a patchwork of different cultures each fighting against each other in one way or another or should we return to the old days when it was important to be a part of this country.  I believe in the latter personally.  It means more to me to be an American who happens to be black than to be a black American.  It helps me more to shape my own future based on my beliefs than to think about the past and perpetuate the failures of poor judgement and bad thinking that plagues our culture.  That’s real progression to me.