Liberty and rights, I believe are the most likely to explain what an American culture is all about, Blacks, Whites, Mexicans and other races. Everyone is equal, every American has his/her due respect and everyone has the rights to fight for what he/she thinks is right. One's character and ability is what counts, no distinction in terms of opportunity and rights.
Americans have various ethnic groups and I believe that notion of "ÃÂequal human rights' is the motivating fore behind the identification of being an American for the various group. From what I see is that an American identity exists in any country. Being a citizen is more than holding a similar identification pass. The duty of being an American basically just means to make one's homeland, American, a better place to call home. A better place means a place of stability, of little or no discrimination and equal rights and this is what every ethnic group likes to be treated in America.
Thousand Island Dressing on a plate of salad. Take...
America by Air
America by AirThe first metaphor of the "melting pot"ÃÂ is not exactly wrong. I believe that everyone does fit into a single identity but still there are some that don't fir. For instance, there are Christmas and Thanksgiving that is written in every America calendar, but there is no Lunar New Year for the Chinese or Deepavali for the Indians and if you look it this way, there is a lack of distinction. Another example would be fashion, you look at any single street and observe the people, although everyone comes from a different race but almost everyone wears the same clothing like jeans, tee shirts, sweater and many others. You don't really see people who dress in their traditional clothes like cheongsams, saris or kimono. All these boil down to a melting pot description.
However, the second metaphor is better to describes America's ethnic and cultural situation. The American identity is like a "ÃÂsalad dressing,' each individual group is like the different ingredients. Culturally, I believe that differences between groups do and will continue to exist in today's world. Differences may serve as touches of varieties to society rather bring conflict. Different ethnicity is like bringing color to the streets of America, rather than attempts to make everyone the same, it will be better if we can accommodate everyone difference and that is what I believe is slowly happening to America. Take food for instance, there are more and more food from other countries coming into America and these little details add a flavor to America rather than having the same steaks and fries everyday. Distinctive flavors like African crafts work, Japanese origami are still reserved and cherished by the ethnic groups, this also shows that how America is like a salad dressing.
In my opinion, this is like maintaining each special heritage. A different aspect of each custom brings more life and flavor to America. Despite a single identity, it's important to treasure one's custom because some people may think that custom will make them who they are or what they are. Therefore, the second metaphor is more likely suitable to fit the situation for America.
America by Air
"America" (LOC)
Two Tuareg students joined a rebel group to push f...