At the same token, many Americans feel negative about Asian Americans. I think that they feel as though they are a threat. No only because of America’s past with them as far as going to war but also because many American’s feel as though many immigrants come to this country and do better than them and it’s at their expense. All and all, one has to admit whether they feel positively or negatively about Asian-Americans they have to agree that they have done very well in America socially and economically. Many Asian Americans are very smart.
Aashish Gautam Professor Dr. James Wright English 1302 10 August 2015 Necessity of Public Engagement with Multiculturalism in America The United States is a land of immigrants. This country has people of different backgrounds from all around the globe. Because of the people of different race, ethnicity, and nationality, America is one of the diverse nations in the context of cultures. Sharing different cultures and tradition among the people of different backgrounds can certainly incorporate uniformity among people. The practice of multiculturalism gives uniqueness and an essential component to benefit the country such as good public relationship.
Sometimes Americans saw Asians as a threat because in California, Japanese very much controlled the market in some fruits and vegetables. The ways Asians have contributed to American culture by aiding in the construction of the Transcontinental Rail Road and during World War II they fought against the world conflict in a segregated unit in the Air Force (Marshall, 1999). Asians were discriminated on when they began to arrive in the United States. Many Asians thought education was a way to get away from the low paying jobs. The second generation Asians, born in the United States could not get better paying jobs because of the discrimination against them.
I personally feel that as a American born citizen, all immigrants need to learn English. This is an English speaking country and yes Spanish is a great thing to know, it is not up to the American people to be able to communicate with people that weren’t even born here. If I was to move to Mexico and live there, it would be very hard for me to communicate with the citizens of that country. It would be crucial for me to learn the Spanish language because that is what the Mexican community expects. They would not learn English and use it as a primary language when Spanish has been theirs for years.
Ever since I took classes where I learned about various countries and their cultures, it has always been my dream to be bilingual. In so many places around the world, children begin to learn English at a very young age. This has always been very important because the United States is a very powerful independent country, unlike many of the smaller countries with failing economies. This brings me to one of Gonzales’s main points, that immigrants don’t want to come to the United States, but have to for a better life. Many people think immigrants are willingly “taking over” the United States, but I agree with Gonzalez.
The same could be said if I was looking for an education in America and eventually decided to stay instead of returning to China because of the lack of opportunity for growth. (REG, chapter four, p. 103) The majority of all new immigrants are the result of them wanting to unite with their spouses or family (REG, chapter four, p.101). When I look at myself as a Chinese immigrant who is planning to migrate to America only for reasons of unification with a spouse or family, the process may seem
Although more than half of all Asians in the U.S. were born outside the U.S., many non-Asians simply assume that every Asian they see, meet, or hear about is a foreigner. Many can't recognize that many Asian American families have been U.S. citizens for several generations. As a result, because all Asian Americans are perceived as foreigners, it becomes easier to think of us as not fully American and then to deny us the same rights that other Americans take for granted. Yes, that means prejudice and discrimination in its many forms. Even back in the late 1800s, Asians mobilized their resources to lobby for equal rights and access to economic, land, and occupational opportunities that they were being denied.
Recently Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi created headlines by saying, “achieving world-class excellence demands that all Japanese acquire a working knowledge of English.” (Masci, N.p) He not only went on to say that English should be the nation’s official second language but also suggested the alternative was to be left behind in the global race to prosperity. (Masci,N.p) So while other countries are clearly embracing English as a necessary language of the future, the United States continues to embrace multiple languages and, in fact, encourages it. In a recent article by Joe Castaldo, he states that German and Japanese based companies choose English as a primary language of their business and employees. (Castaldo, N.p) In fact, deviating from the “English Only” policy has severe consequences. (Castaldo, N.p) The article concludes that companies with global aspirations have no choice but to use English as the language of business.
Foreigners who enter America’s borders do not know much or any English at all. Most of these foreigners that enter America do not worry about learning English. Some even begin to live the American lifestyle and may even start a new life in the United States. This creates a problem, not only are people speaking English, but they are speaking Spanish, French, Latin and other languages. The United States of America “has probably been host to more bilingual people than any other country in the world,” all because America does not have a declared national language (Hakuta 166).
Should English Be Official? English is the official language of at least 50 countries including Singapore, New Zealand, and India, except the United States of America. The English-only legislation is an issue that affects millions of individuals and has drawn lots of attentions and concerns in these recent years. In fact, making English the official language is simply unnecessary and yet may even contribute to negative effects which include perpetuating stereotypes and abridging people’s rights. The usual argument made by U.S. English, an organization that advocates for English as the official language of the U.S., is that making English the official U.S. language would unite Americans around one common tongue so that they could communicate much better with each other.