 Integrating Other Cultures Into the American Dream: Left of Center View America is a vast and varied place, broken into segments shaped by the landscape and flavored by its inhabitants. Each of our fifty states has it's own proud heritage and history, as do all of our major cities, causing most Americans when abroad to proclaim not just their country, but State and City of origin as well. There are numerous subcultures in our nation including cowboys, surfers, cheerleaders, gang-bangers, etc. All of them are recognized as uniquely American, yet each of them would be totally out of place in the others element, Yet for all this richness and diversity, the typical conception of the "American Culture" is quite different from reality. Norman Rockwell's America no longer exists. Elvis is dead and family farms are as antiquated as the Model T, but we have trouble admitting that because the reality scares the hell out of us. Realistically there is nothing you can do to stop the wild mixture that is American culture. People from other countries and cultures will always carry a little piece of where they are from with them. Settle a bunch of these folks together and they will recreate much of the culture they came from. Chinatown, Little Italy, common neighborhoods in almost every American city, usually separated by the one block that has all the Irish Pubs on it. America is supposed to be the land of the free, a place where people can find a new beginning and escape persecution for their beliefs and religious differences. This is the basic ideal upon which our country is based, and we have no right to demand that it be changed just because we are forced to face the unfamiliar. There is one major exception to cultural tolerance, and that is the banishment of cultural practices that infringe on the rights and freedoms of others. Muslim women may choose to cover their entire bodies in traditional garb, but they have no right to insist others do so as well. In the work place sexual harassment and discrimination are just that, regardless of the cultural justifications. America is strong because of our diversity, not in spite of it. Kyle Pesonen - Staff Writer | E-mail Comments on this column. Got a liberal viewpoint? We want to know what you think. Next week's subject: Political Activism and Illegal Immigration Send in your view from the Left to be our featured Left of Center View for the week. Click here to submit your article. Last Week's View from the Left: Employing Undocumented Workers Previous Weeks Views from the Left: Bilingual Education The Minutemen Driver's Licenses For Undocumented Immigrants Open Borders Sanctuary Cities Common Sense Laws Rise & Fall Outsourcing & Insourcing English Amnesty vs. Reality Defining Immigration |
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