Essay on For many immigrants living a hyphenated existence in the United States can be destructive OR necessary
Historically, the US was the nation of immigrants. However, the large number of immigrants raised the problem of their integration into the mainstream cultural group. The specific American culture, in its turn, was a blend of diverse cultures. In such a situation, the question that begs is whether many immigrants living a hyphenated existence in the United States can be destructive or necessary. This question implies that immigrants either become fully assimilated and their native background is rather destructive than helpful for their integration and adaptation to their life, while, on the other hand, immigrants preserve their cultural identity and adapt to the American culture that leads to the enrichment of their own cultural experience and enriches the American culture too. The hyphenated existence in the US is the necessity because immigrants arriving to the US cannot assimilate into the US society in a day, but, instead, they preserve their identity and try to integrate into the mainstream culture that makes them belonging to both American culture and that of their origin that leads to the mutual cultural enrichment of immigrants and native-born Americans.
Immigrants arriving to the US cannot change their cultural background, traditions and social norms immediately but, instead, they stay devoted to their original culture, norms and traditions and preserve their cultural identity which is different from that of Americans. They arrive to the US from different countries of the world, which may have the totally different background, norms and traditions. They naturally stick to their cultural traditions, which they have learned from their childhood. As a result, they preserve their cultural identity even after their immigration to the US and life there.
Furthermore, immigrants have difficulties with the adaptation into the US society and culture, because they are totally different from their own and they suffer from the cultural shock upon the arrival to the new country (Bayat 149). The cultural difference can trigger the severe depression in immigrants, who fail to find their new cultural identity because their past cultural experience comes into clashes with their new cultural experience in the US. The cultural experience of immigrants leads to the enrichment of their cultural views, values and beliefs.
At the same time, immigrants, who arrive to the US, have to adapt to the life of the US that means that immigrants start to interact with Americans and develop closer cultural links with them and social relations with them. In such a situation, it is not only immigrants that enrich their cultural experience but also Americans that acquire new cultural norms and traditions. In fact, this cultural enrichment is beneficial for immigrants as well as Americans. The cultural enrichment was historically driven by the high level of the immigration in the US. Therefore, the hyphenation has rather a positive effect and is a necessity for the cultural development and progress in the US as it contributes to the emerging diversity of the US culture, which was the integral part of the development of the US.
In addition, immigrants cannot avoid the impact of the mainstream culture because they live in the new cultural and social environment, which norms they have to accept and match, when they are outside of their community. This means that immigrants focus on the development of their new social life in the US through the closer interaction with Americans (Olmos 188). Native born Americans help immigrants to get acquainted with their cultural norms and traditions. Immigrants, in their turn, cannot ignore the mainstream culture because they have to interact with representatives of the mainstream culture. Moreover, the mainstream culture becomes the vehicle culture, which helps representatives of different cultural groups to find the common ground for interaction and communication.
Therefore, the double impact of their native cultural identity and the new cultural environment leads to the development of the double identity of immigrants in the US that makes their hyphenated existence a necessity. The hyphenated existence is a necessity because immigrants interact with representatives of the mainstream culture. In such a way, they contribute to the enrichment of the mainstream culture. Representatives of the mainstream culture, in its turn, also learn from other cultural groups and acquire new cultural experience (Back et al 193). In such a way, the enrichment of the American culture occurs that stimulates the further progress of the American culture and development of new, more complex and fruitful interaction between representatives of different cultural groups.
Thus, the contemporary American culture is vulnerable to the persisting impact of immigration. However, immigrants are the major drivers of cultural changes because they bring new cultural norms and traditions and help Americans to expand their cultural values, views and beliefs. At the same time, immigrants also preserve their cultural identity and learn new cultural norms and traditions from Americans. In such a way, the mutual cultural enrichment is positive that means that the hyphenated existence is a necessity for immigrants.
Do you like this essay?
Our writers can write a paper like this for you!
(No Ratings Yet)
Loading...