One Nation of Individuals
Immigrants pour into this country daily with dreams of better opportunities, desires for personal freedom, or sometimes just because they have nowhere better to go. With them they bring all of their baggage, both literal and figurative, as well as a wealth of knowledge and customs from their original homelands. To require those who enter this country to give up their unique culture would be akin to making this country as over-processed as the foods we consume. It would violate the foundation and ideals this nation was built upon and cause most people to feel unappreciated as individuals. Individuality is part of what makes us human – tradition is what binds us as a family and as a society.
Removing all form of individualism and variation from the people entering this country would eventually have a horrible effect on the entirety of this society. It would transform a once colorful and vibrant group of billions into a stale and Stepford-esque civilization. The blandness of our culture would only rival that of the cookie-cutter homes that Urban Sprawl has caused the general public to become so accepting of these days. Such an uncalled-for demand would go beyond the labeling of people with social security and other various numbers and become a complete metamorphosis into said number. We would no longer be faces with feelings but merely strings of digits with no real substance or solidity. The beliefs and traditions that most immigrants would be forced into giving up are often what help them bond with the rest society in general. Many of us deeply enjoy sharing things about ourselves and learning about others; without anything to make us different there is nothing to contribute – no need to bond. Everyone would know all there was about those around them and have no real desire to communicate. The want to build relationships with others would become null and void.
To ask that someone give up a part of their culture or where they hail from would be like stripping them of their past and themselves. It would be much the same as attempting to wipe out history. Traditions and various cultural practices normally stem from generations of beliefs which have been carried through bloodlines and crossed into families and numerous societies. Much of what is now considered as "American as apple pie" was originally a ceremony or holiday that traveled across the ocean from Europe, Africa, or some other far off region that, if faced with its introduction today, we would call foreign with a half-mocking sneer. If we, as a society, were to demand that all immigrants depart from their cultural background we would all be starting over at square one. Only those who were truly native to this land would be able to maintain their set of beliefs. (Which actually might not be such a bad idea given the wasteful tendencies of the majority of people now living in the United States and the earth-friendly practices of most Native American tribes.)
The foundation of this nation was built on the dream that one's beliefs would not necessarily be accepted by all but would at least be tolerated. The Puritans of Europe sailed the ocean blue for the right to live how they deemed as correct. The complete disregard for an individual's, or group of individuals', personal freedom is what this country prides itself on being against. Throughout the history of this country people have fought and died for their rights as a certain gender or race. Why, since we have struggled so hard for this freedom, would we deny it to those who are coming here seeking such opportunities? It seems as though it is a step backward from all the ground we have gained, an insult to those that gave their lives for our ability to be who we decide to be, and a possibly detrimental narrowing of our collective minds.
The United States is often called the melting pot of the world because of the various cultures and beliefs that can be found in this country. Without the variety of people, with their different traditions, beliefs, and perspectives, I believe this nation as a whole would suffer. We, as a people, would not be as likely to grow and expand into compassionate, tolerant, and expressive human beings, if we were to demand that anyone setting foot onto this land and into our communities was to give up who they are as individuals in order to blend in with the rest of us. Quite honestly there is no one I have met that was an exact replica of another person. Each one of us has different ideas, ideals, hopes, and opinions and we should respect that in others especially when we expect the same consideration in return.
