Fluctuating Identity
Waltzer says, “The citizen soldier defends his hearth and home and he also defends the political community within which the enjoyment of hearth and home is made possible.” This matches my idea that as long as an individual’s identity or at least the major aspects and foundations of that identity are safe than people are all for unity and protecting society. I believe that the idea of protection our nation and protecting unity and freedom just stems back to our selfish desire to protect ourselves. This is reflected in our politics as well. Political figures win votes by playing up issues that their targeted voters find important. Basically, what this means is we support only that which benefits us and I believe that through this process we are unknowingly contributing to the destruction our individual and unique identities.
This idea of a destruction of our individual identities stems back to the idea of America and American politics taking the place of religion. We see America as a religion because it maintains our wants and desires, we maintain and create
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We are losing diversity and richness in our society and are blindly falling taking hold of a bland, boring, socially conformative identity which doesn’t truly represent our interests. We may believe we are a sheaf of arrows each individual and unique in our identities but bound together by our desire to protect these differences and these identities, but at the end of the day I believe we are getting melted down in the melting pot of America and the world. This is a terrifying thought and I hope that we can recognize that this is happening right here at home and not just everywhere else. I hope that we can strengthen our differences and maintain our unique identities and combine them in such a way that nothing is lost and instead we gain strength from one another. A tapestry made of thread that no one can ever pull
America was founded on change. Past revolutions were fought to make new ways in which to live life in this country. Our families all came to America, at one point, to feed into this definition of being an American. The term melting pot in my mind means structure, meaning what we, as Americans, are made of. It was many ethnic backgrounds that came to make up our country. So as more and more people migrate to America, stand up for the changes they believe in, this country will only continue to get stronger.
In the United States, there are a vast majority of ethnicities and races, which is why we are oftentimes recognized as “the melting pot”. Because of this, it may seem difficult to keep ethnic groups completely separate because there are interactions between different races every single day, even though some might not even be aware of it. Some people, especially ones from older generations, see this as an abomination because they feel that races must be kept pure and also feel that assimilation diminishes the uniqueness of one’s ethnic identity. However, would it not make a person more unique to be part of multiple cultures? According to an article aptly titled “Black? White? Asian? More Young Americans Choose All of the Above” by Susan Saulny, it is revealed that “Multiracial and multiethnic Americans are one of the country’s fastest-growing demographic groups” (NYtimes.com). Because 1 in 7 new marriages are interracial, the number of mixed race people is just going to keep increasing. With the way this is going, there could be very few people in the United States who identify with strictly one ethnic group or race. In a way, everyone is going to be the same (mixed race) but in different combinations, which would still make us all individuals. When this happens, America will be more unified and will be less full of prejudice as it always has seemed to be towards certain races.
America was widely known as a “melting pot” of sorts for many generations. The country earned its title by accepting immigrants of various cultures and molding, or melting, them into the American lifestyle. However, the “melting pot” idea of America is starting to dissipate. According to a Newsweek Poll on the public, “only 20 percent still think America is a melting pot” (Morganthau and Wolfberg, par.4). As more Americans push away immigrants and create stereotypes against said immigrants, America continues to lose its title as a “melting pot.” There is ethnic friction in America and people have begun to have a hard time assimilating (Morganthau and Wolfberg, par.18). .America is beginning to place a negative outlook on its culture. Authors Jack Shaheen, Richard Rodriguez, Peter Marin and Zora Neale Hurtson all shape American culture in a detrimental way.
Diversity. ‘Diversity’ is a single, nine-letter word that perfectly encompasses the identity of the United States. Since the beginning of time, the United States offered opportunity to all of those brave enough to seize it. Consequently, over time tidal waves of immigrants came to the shores of America and brought along their own varieties of ethnicities and traditions. As a result, the United States of America continuously became referred to as a “melting pot,” due to its mix of race, religion, and culture. Whether an urban city or a small-town, every area across the United States blends together to form the foundation of our heterogeneous country, with a never-ending mix of different backgrounds. Diversity is the glue that holds us together,
This essay will discuss the intrinsic relationship between diversity conceptualization and social integration presenting a response against David Brooks’ essay entitled “People Like Us.” In order to do this I will discuss four crucial elements: the influences of different definitions of diversity in cultural unification, Brook’s ideas about social groups working together and social groups coexisting together, the importance of diversity, and the influence of diversity in social changes. I will examine why some people have the perception that our American society ignore or see as unworthy diversity. Thus, I will dispute Brook’s view stating that our society disregards diversity, and Americans just pretend that it is important to them.
Our nation seems as if it is in a constant battle between freedom and safety. Freedom and security are two integral parts that keep our nation running smoothly, yet they are often seen conflicting with one another. “Tragedies such as Pearl Harbor, 9/11 and the Boston Marathon bombings may invoke feelings of patriotism and a call for unity, but the nation also becomes divided, and vulnerable populations become targets,” (Wootton 1). “After each attack a different group or population would become targets. “The attack on Pearl Harbor notoriously lead to Japanese Americans being imprisoned in internment camps, the attacks on 9/11 sparked hate crimes against those who appeared to be Muslim or Middle Eastern,” (Wootton 1). Often times people wind up taking sides, whether it be for personal freedoms or for national security, and as a nation trying to recover from these disasters we should be leaning on each other for support. Due to these past events the government has launched a series of antiterrorist measures – from ethnic profiling to going through your personal e-mail (Begley 1). Although there are times when personal freedoms are sacrificed for the safety of others, under certain circumstances the government could be doing more harm than good.
The Social landscape of America is changing. This is largely in part due to the rapid growth of the internet and more social media platforms becoming predominantly accessible. As a result, the reemergence of pictures and images that have been hidden have become available. The constant bombardment of Negative imagery is fading away and being replaced with images of empowerment and positive thinking. “The world is white no longer and it will never be white again”. This is a simple and powerful statement which has taken a shear scope and gravity because of its complexity which might not be conveyed. In other words, for someone, to brush off or ignore such a statement is to brush off or ignore all the social, economic and spiritual changes that are happening all around the world. This topic is a rear chance to examine the strength and character of an entire race of people that may begin to show a form of direction in which an entire generation might go.
Today, we are a polarized nation. We categorize everyone based on two sets of ideals, and we do not believe in there being any sort of in between. But, despite our different idea of implicating the ideals of the constitution, we are still connected through our patriotism and our beliefs of what we want our nation to be based on. Everyone’s perceptions differ, but they are still “a
Personal Identity Personal Identity can be broken down into three areas: 1.) Body 2. Memory and 3. Soul. I am a sassy soul.
We are more than our identities. To recognize your core self is to know your purpose, your values, your goals, and your motivations. Aligning with your inner character. Knowing your inner self-comes from self-awareness, having a clarity of your inner self-opens the consciousness and set up a solid focus in self-actualization. Referring to the need for personal growth and development that exists throughout their life cycle. Life is about pushing self in accomplishing goals, although a challenge because of risky obstacles that always lands on our track of completion. An individual’s identity is molded by many diverse aspects. Family, culture, personal interests, and environments are all influences that tend to help shape a person’s identity.
When we think about race and poverty in terms of the shared values and linked fate of our people, our approach to politics as well as policy should begin to change. Instead of balancing a list of constituencies and identity groups, our task as a community becomes one of moving forward together as a diverse but cohesive community, addressing through unity the forces that have often divided us as a
Identity, an ambiguous idea, plays an important part in today’s world. To me identity can be defined as who a person is or what differentiates one person from another. Identity would be a person’s name, age, height, ethnicity, personality, and more. A quote by Anne Sexton states “It doesn't matter who my father was; it matters who I remember he was”(Anne Sexton). This quote helps me define identity because I believe it is saying that identity is what people are remembered by. When some people think of identity, words such as, uniqueness, distinctiveness, or individuality may come to mind. However, I disagree with this because when I think of identity I think of mimicry, self-consciousness, or opinions.
Many people know that the United States of America is a country that was discovered by immigrants and was founded on the principles of freedom and liberty for everyone. Albeit, some exercised their freedom to such an extent that it limited, or took away, the freedom of others, now more than ever the United States professes to stand by these principles. Because of this, many people have wanted to come this country in search for better opportunity, protection, and prosperity. A virtue for those coming to country was the freedom they had to religious belief and expression. Subsequently, this created a certain diversity in the United States, which would lead to what would called the “Melting Pot.” It is a good thing because people not only get
A person’s identity is shaped by many different aspects. Family, culture, friends, personal interests and surrounding environments are all factors that tend to help shape a person’s identity. Some factors may have more of an influence than others and some may not have any influence at all. As a person grows up in a family, they are influenced by many aspects of their life. Family and culture may influence a person’s sense of responsibilities, ethics and morals, tastes in music, humor and sports, and many other aspects of life. Friends and surrounding environments may influence a person’s taste in clothing, music, speech, and social activities. Personal interests are what truly set individuals apart. An individual is not a puppet on the string of their puppet-master, nor a chess piece on their master’s game board, individuals choose their own paths in life. They accomplish, or strive to accomplish, goals that they have set for themselves throughout their lifetime. Individuals are different from any other individual in the world because they live their own life rather than following a crowd of puppets. A person’s identity is defined by what shaped it in the first place, why they chose to be who they are, and what makes them different from everybody else in the world. I feel that I have developed most of my identity from my own dreams, fantasies, friends, and idols.
An extensive debate has formed over the years since the explosion of social networks about online and offline identities. An identity is defined according to (Oxforddictionaries.com, 2014) as the characteristics determining who or what a person or a thing is. An online identity is defined as a identity that a person establish in an online environment such as social networks. An offline identity is defined as a identity that a person establish in an offline environment such as in real life.