Trans-National America

"We act as if we wanted Americanization to take place only on our own terms, and not by the consent of the governed. 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 is the condition which confronts us, and which demands a clear and readjustment of our attitude and our ideal." - Randolph Bourne

Bourne is ascertaining that Americans must remember their roots. The US was created on a foundation of immigration, and its citizens are immigrants who are inevitably responsible for its future. Everything that our fore fathers worked for is a result of their persistence and strength. What is interfering in the progress of the nation is the ignorance associated with superiority of the ruling class and inferiority of the immigrants. In order for the US continue advancing and growing as a nation society must adjust its approach and mindset in regards to the immigrant population.

I could not agree more with this excerpt, which is why I chose it. These nativist attitudes have long been an issue of controversy in the US, but just recently has it stopped being so taboo. People forget that a person can be multi-national, that regardless of where they came from they can feel pride and admiration for the US which is his/her new home. Today we are able to express our feelings about the topic of immigration freely and realize that immigrants are everywhere around us. Whether one agrees or disagrees with the growing population of immigrants is on an individual basis. However one thing that cannot be argued is that this country was built on immigration and escape from persecution. The American population truly needs a refresher course on early American history, along with an attitude adjustment. The future of this great country lies on the children of immigrants and their decisions. The sooner people open their eyes and minds, the sooner this country can focus on other vital issues such as the economy, which is destroying the lower and middle class.