The Theory Of Assimilation And The American Dream

Assimilation is achieving wealth or economic status, allowing African Americans to immerse in American culture. Some examples of assimilation include having professional success, being in an affluent family, and living in a wealthy neighborhood. The problem is the majority of African Americans struggle overcoming numerous hurdles involving money, class, etc. African Americans need to deny their heritage to fully assimilate because it consumes time and energy to economically and socially progress.

“Acculturation, according to Berry, describes the induction of a new culture into a pre-existing culture in a given area” (Emily Lemanczyk 2004). What they are explaining is, acculturation is when the subject is introduced to a new culture and chooses to adopt that culture and keep their original. On the other hand assimilation is adopting a new culture while trashing your previous one. Acculturation is more prevalent, as people are constantly moving, and becoming more

We have all heard of this intense rollercoaster ride that we are on called the American Dream. The term was coined by James Truslow Adams in 1931 defining it as “dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for every man, with opportunity for each according to his ability or achievement.” Since it’s arrival, the Dream has evolved from a pursuit towards “freedom, mutual respect, and equal opportunity” (Shiller) to later one of greed described by Shiller as being “excessively lustful about homeownership and wealth” beginning in the 1960s. Traditionally, the American Dream included features of a nuclear family, that is one with a breadwinning father, a housewife, and two kids, owning a white picket fence home, thriving without financial worries, and a happy family. There has been a shift in focus for the Dream caused by the Millennial generation and in turn they have included features that place an emphasis on equality in all aspects of their lives from family life to the workplace placing their own twist on the Dream. The American Dream has evolved over time to include equal opportunities, college education, and happy family.

In order for assimilation to occur a minority group becomes an integrated part of the majority group; this assimilation results in non-distinguishing of one group from another by cultural characteristics. In order for this process to be complete, it must entail, not only an active effort by the minority group to shed all distinguishing actions and beliefs, and also complete unqualified acceptance of that individual by the dominant society.

Several years ago, America was taught to be a 'melting pot,' a place where immigrants of different cultures or races form an integrated society, but now America is more of a 'salad bowl' where instead of forming an incorporated entity the people who make up the bowl are unwilling to unite as one. America started as an immigrant nation and has continued to be so. People all over the world come to America for several reasons. Most people come to America voluntarily, but very few come unwillingly. For whatever reasons they may have for coming they all have to face exposure to American society. When exposed to this 'new' society they choose whether to assimilate or not. Assimilation

In American society, there are multiple cultures and races exist. Since immigrants bring the various cultures to America, Americans face a highly controversial problem. Some of the Americans believe all of the ethnic groups assimilate into a common culture can help Americans distinctly identify themselves. Others argue that ethnic groups should not abandon their cultural heritages background. As a result, merging different cultures into one new culture will cause America lose its cultural diversity which is one significant charm of this country. On the contrary, if every ethnic group only focuses on building their own community and resists communicate with others, it will aggravate the separation of a nation. Although people often argue about these two ways which one is more appropriate to Americans, I think Richard Rodriguez's idea is more realistic in nowadays American society. Rodriguez resists the idea of the melting pot, and believes that assimilation is inevitable and reciprocal. In the essay Does America Still Exist?, Rodriguez explains his thought to us through his experiences.

It is expected that ultimately there will be a loss of ethnic distinctiveness for immigrants in the U.S., meaning the lack of attachment to the country of origin. (Golash-Boza, 2006) It is argued that all ethnic distinctiveness will no longer exist by the seventh or eighth generations. Before exploring the influence of foreign born vs. U.S. born parents on their children’s cultural assimilation; the different theories of assimilation will be explored. The idea of Assimilation came about in the early 20th century. (Golash-Boza, 2006) Assimilation is surrounded by two theories, the first that all immigrants will assimilate sooner or later and that the generational status of the individual is one of the main factors in determining the

When most people think of the American Dream they often visualize the typical white fence, the two children, and an overall perfect family. When people think of the American Dream they think of the dream jobs which consist of being a doctor, lawyer, or a widely known talk show host. The people who have the voice determine what is ideal in society and what isn’t. They try to sell you this pitch that the American Dream is obtainable and what you put in to the system, you get out; This is also know as meritocracy. The thought of achieving the American Dream through success and social mobility is the misinformed interpretation what the upper middle class likes to say, however its easier to say that when climbing the class ladder is a lot more difficult when born into a low advantaged family. It is absolutely impossible to reach the American Dream unless you are among the wealthy. Circumstances that work against an individual only further hinders any opportunity that person may have to “obtain” the American Dream. Negative factors not working in your favor will most likely determine your undesirable future and having a role model, such as Oprah, who seemingly embodies the American Dream, will lead to the unrealistic dream that her status is actually attainable. Some of the key elements we consider essential to achieving success, are now impractical and misleading, proving the many flaws in our American Dream that make it impossible to obtain.

For immigrants in America, two radically different choices of culture exist. First, the immigrants can choose to stay loyal to their ancestral roots and deny mainstream culture. Instead of contributing to the melting pot of opinions present they isolate within themselves by refusing to learn both the English language and American culture as a whole. Because they cannot communicate with a majority of the population, they don’t maintain any amount of control over American ideals including both politically and socially. The second opportunity available would be to embrace this new found culture, no matter how foreign it is to them, and develop a sense of unity with America. If immigrants wish to break the currently controlled system of power and privilege in America and truly become a part of American customs, they must learn to assimilate culturally.

The central theme of the second chapter from America ethnicity The Dynamics and Consequences of Discrimination is about assimilation theories, ethnicities and them coming together as one. It also addresses the issues of prejudice, discrimination, stereotyping and self identity. What was the article about?: Assimilation is something that can be achieved in many levels in one’s life and throughout a society. This ensures a better living environment for everyone, not just the new member of the community.

“Our workforce and our entire economy are strongest when we embrace diversity to its fullest, and that means opening doors of opportunity to everyone and recognizing that the American Dream excludes no one” (Perez 2). “Only in America can someone start with nothing and achieve the American Dream. That's the greatness of this country” (Cruz 3). In the United States, we as a society have the experience and understatement of freedom. We have freedom of rights, freedom of religion, and freedom to work and given to earn money in the United States. This is the kind American Dream in this society. There is another different kind of American Dream. Citizen who have been born and raised in the Untied States is given this dream and they have the opportunity

Assimilation is the forced action to adapt or adjust to the culture and values of another nation. This, in many cases throughout history, has been the result of a more powerful, majority group suffocating the minority. Conformity has been a very popular trait in the colonial Canadian society. By exercising this value over successive decades, European immigrants smothered much of the Indigenous culture.

In Milton Gordon’s, “Assimilation in America”, theorizes that there is a “3” stage process of assimilation; acculturation (cultural assimilation), integration (structural assimilation), intermarriage (marital assimilation). However, it is actually 7 stages, but for simplicity will refer to as 3 stages. The overall process seems to follow the theory of Anglo-conformity, in which immigrants “assume the desirability of maintaining English institutions, the English language, and English-oriented cultural patterns as dominant and standard in American life” (265).

Immigration is a subject that drives our society today. Whether politicians are debating the issue of immigration or whether a family is immigrating to a new country or place, we cannot escape the idea of immigration. At times our judgment over immigration is clouded due to the fact that our society gives immigrants and immigration a bad name. When one thinks of immigrants and immigration in our society we develop bad thoughts of the idea due to the stereotypes that our society has developed for us. However when we delve deeper into immigration and the challenges that new immigrants face we find that there is more to the issue than meets the eye. When immigrating to a new country or even a new area in your home country assimilation is a process

The United States of America is a country founded on the dreams of foreigners (pilgrims) and a symbol of freedom and a new life. According to the Department of Homeland Security, in 2012, there were 484,072 new, legal entries into the United States… (Batalova, Terrazas). The Times Tribune states, “There perhaps are no greater dreamers than immigrants, who often leave behind everything to build new lives in the United States” (Lockwood).