During the last couple of hours at my internship this week we decided as an office to venture out to visit the Smithsonian Folk Life Festival out on the National Mall. As Kelly has previously mentioned, the festival celebrates the cultural traditions of places inside and outside the United States and other topics of cultural interest. This year’s themes include Mexico, Asian Pacific Americans, and the Smithsonian Inside Out.
Since my internship at International Student Conferences specifically deals with Asian American culture and education, the section on Asian Americans helped to provide reinforcement to what I’ve been working on in the office.
In the ‘Talk Stories’ tent, a panel of three Asian Americans discussed discrimination and how having an Asian background does not make them exclusively Asian. They were born in America. Speak fluent English. They are equally as American as anyone else. Yet their distinct facial features somehow have categorically made them separate from the term American.
Which made me think. What does it mean to be American? In a nation considered as the worlds ‘melting pot,’ are we still stuck in a time of categorizing people by appearance? We’ve all done it before. Categorizing people by what they physically look like. But if you take a closer look, looks can most often be deceiving, especially in today’s world where immigration has changed the face of what is American. If there was one thing I took away from the festival’s discussion it is that we are all distinct culturally and physically. There are many things that separate us as a nation, but ultimately we can find at least one thing in common—we’re all American.
M.A.
Great post Meredith! The topic what is an American or what constitutes American culture has always intrigued me. Is an American one who speaks perfect English? Or only Caucasians? No, the United States is a nation composed of people from a variety of ethnic backgrounds, religions, and cultures. President Barack Hussein Obama II, the 44th President of the United States, is an example that an American can be made up of a variety of cultures.
ReplyDeleteHowever, people living in the Global South often dislike Americans and the American culture because of its neo-liberal, market-oriented policies that exacerbate poverty in developing countries. The average American does not think about how U.S. financial institutions-- the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank's structural adjustment policies have affected the lives of people in the developing world. I believe that combating Anti-Americanism begins with U.S. citizens understanding the policies that are implemented in other countries and learning about other cultures.
-OI
Very thoughtful comment, OI. We'll expect you to ask a hard question or two when we visit the World Bank.
ReplyDeleteI'm wondering who the protagonist is in this argument, Meredith. Do you feel that many people in America today feel that certain people are less "American" based on how they look? I had two thoughts- from working at the festival, I can tell you that there are a number of immigrants who do not feel like they are "American," and others who might not necessarily want to gain that title. Some view their homeland as "home," and hold tight to their cultural heritage. Others become enculturated with vigor. So I wonder how much of being American is being seen as American, and how much is feeling like an American?
ReplyDeleteThere are also many who cherish their role as a hyphenated American. Teddy Roosevelt proclaimed that "There is no such thing as a hyphenated American who is a good American. The only man who is a good American is the man who is an American and nothing else." Are they Americans? Those who I work with at the Smithsonian would argue yes, but are there remnant's of TR's words today?
When considering what makes someone American, I think of what it would be like for me if I tried to emigrate. If I lived in Japan, or Britain, for the rest of my life, would I ever feel like I was Japanese or British? I don't expect I would. At some point, I expect I would feel like a "Citizen of Japan," etc, but does that equate to being Japanese?
The ability to become American is unlike the ability to join any other type of group. We define our country by it's amalgamated quality, and tend to welcome people based on qualities rather than heritage. For example, loyalty to the country, an effort to become enculturated- these are the things we look for in an American. In many other places, one would always be considered an outsider if their birth and childhood were spent elsewhere (such as when Chinese Adoptees return to China).
I think this topic is fascinating, thanks for bringing it up!
KS