Multiculturalism in the US

Essay by RosingalA+, December 1996

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        Who is an American? This question is very difficult to answer. According to the Funk and Wagnalls Standard Dictionary the definition is: American: adj. 1. Pertaining to the United States of America. 2. pertaining to North or South America. -n 1.a citizen of the United States. 2. an inhabitant of America. This definition is still unclear. What is to pertain? According to the same source: Pertain: v. 1. have reference; relate 2. belong as an adjunct, function, quality, etc. - pertaining to having to do with; belonging or relating to.

After reading these definitions I figured out that an American is someone who belongs, is related or has something to do with the United States of America. But it is still difficult to know who is an American. I believe that this difficulty has to do with the multiculturalism that exists in this country.

        The United States doesn't have a unique culture.

In fact it is the world's most multicultural country. The country has a lot of different cultures, and not one is similar to the others. No culture is better or worse than another. USA is different from other countries because that in this country are living representatives of all cultures. It is normal to meet people from all over the world in most every city; what is not normal is the idea of understanding that a lot of people are Americans, people born and raised in the US. These citizens might not seem to be Americans, but they are as American as any American.

        Ronald Takaki in his essay, "An Educated and Cultural Literate Person Must Study America's Multicultural Reality", gives an excellent example of what I meant when I said that some citizens might not seem to be American. Takaki was born in Hawaii, one of the...