Where did my America go?
One thing you've certainly noticed about America since you've arrived is-all the foreigners!
Hm, are a lot of my neighbors just temporary residents? Or perhaps they intend to live here all their lives without assimilating.
Many older immigrants can't learn a new language, and are so set in a lifetime of customs that they are unable to ever assimilate-at least on the outside. But it's quite different when a citizen refuses to, for whatever reason, to even try to know their country's culture. When I came to the U. S. to join my father he made it clear that we were here to live as Americans, not as Hungarians living in America. But it seems to me that today I see many immigrants have either forgotten to, or opted out of assimilation. But why?
Well for one thing, it's 'easy'. I mean, you can deal with government-obtain a driver's license, pay taxes, even vote-in many languages other than English. I'm not sure how all this came to be, since naturalization specifically requires that citizens speak enough English to function in basic society, including government. Maybe I was just unlucky (or lucky) to not have the option of doing anything with anyone in Hungarian, unless I knew them personally to be Hungarian. No free Hungarian television channels. No forms in that language in any government office except at the embassy. I was forced to learn English to particapate in just about anything, and I did take English as a Second Language classes for a few weeks during my first year here in elementary school. They soon put me back in regular English class. So our government contributes to this lack of assimilation by having different expectations of it's citizens than it used to-they no longer expect you to speak English. And without that, you are missing much more than just the movie's dialogue.
And your fellow citizens? In our culture of celebrating the differences, your neighbor is not about to feel any displeasure at your lack of this language or that custom. And if she does, she dare not say it for fear of violating your space, since there are not many social 'norms' left. There is no social 'punishment' for being un-American, or I should say 'not assimilated'. That would not be Politically Correct because it might hurt someone's feelings. (read with sarcasm)
After all, isn't part of the real meaning of American "to be from somewhere else"?
Lack of education is another reason for the decline in assimilation. Sure, kids and teenagers adopt our technologies and clothing and music and such, no problem. But we know that there is more to being an American than just those 'things'. If you do not know about HOW our government is set up and WHY it is set up that way, you lack a large chunk of the concept of being American. History class-how and why this country came to be-is more important to maintaining our society the way it was intended than any other subject. Without history, there are no lessons learned from the millions of deaths around the globe in search for the concept of 'freedom'. Lack of knowledge also leads to lack of caring-you can't care about something you're unaware of. Why would you celebrate Thanksgiving or July 4th if you don't know what they stand for? Why would you teach your children to? I had actual 'government' class for a whole semester in public high school in the 80's. I so dearly miss those "School House Rock" songs, they were awsome. How a bill becomes a law, Conjunctions, Mother Necessity, Columbus' voyage of discovery, math, every subject. I still remember some of the words.
The change in American government also has had a great impact on it's new citizens' attitudes towards their new country. Most immigrants' grand dreams are quickly burst once the reality of today's America settles in. No more land to settle, only to buy for lots of money. No more states to start with a different way of thinking, only existing ones that are too much the same any more. No more 'put out the sign and open the door', not until you've paid lots of moneys before making any and got permission from everyone for doing anything. Most of us who've read the Constitution are baffled that nobody sees the big pink elephant in the living room.
If you came here with the idea of 'doing your own thing and being left alone to do it and profit by it'-well, frankly you're too late. Taxation like you've never imagined, and the ever-lingering threat of TAKING FROM THOSE WHO HAVE TO GIVE TO THOSE WHO DON'T-that's not what the naturalized citizen bargained for. In fact, it sounds just like many of the places we escaped from. You can't blame some of us for not standing in line for Uncle Sam posters.