Citizenship and American Identity

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In “Trans-National America” by Randolph Bourne, he says “All our elaborate machinery of settlement and school and union, of social and political naturalization, however, will move with friction just in so far as it neglects to take into account this strong and virile insistence that America shall be what the immigrant will have a hand in making it, and not what a ruling class, descendant of those British stocks which were the first permanent immigrants, decide that America shall be made.” This quote has a strong meaning and represents not only what was happening in the 1900s but what is the reality in America today.
            In this quote Bourne argues that it would be better for America to alter its culture with the impact of the new immigrants. It’s better to not let the Angelo-Saxon culture which originally descended from the British to impact the new cultures and decide how America will be. Instead to let new cultures of new immigrants influence the dominant culture to suit all people and not only the ruling class. America is originally made up of immigrants and their culture so its for its own good to keep it that way and just accept all cultures and people. America is and has always been a diverse nation.
            I chose this quote because we see how immigration is fought today. People tend to forget how America was made. It is immigrants that made up America in the first place, so its only right to leave it as it is and let in new immigrants. I think its very wrong and very bad for America to ban any immigrants. These immigrants keep America diverse like how it always has been. New cultures is also a great way to renew and to keep America lively and multicultural. America is made up of immigrants and its culture is a mixture of all cultures.

 -Amina Mohamed 

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