也谈融入主流社会

How to adapt to American society is an important issue for most of us, especially for the first generation of immigrants, because we are in a disadvantageous position in a non-Chinese society, such as the United States.

 

When we talk about how to adapt to American society, we should first clarify some misunderstandings.

 

Some people have a misunderstanding that if we want to adapt to American society, we have to squeeze into so-called "mainstream society" by getting rid of our own cultural traditions, that is, to become more Americanized.

 

It’s wrong! We can adapt to American society while keeping our cultural traditions. The evidence is that Chinese schools are everywhere in the United States. Many of us not only want to keep our cultural traditions, but also want to pass the traditions to our children.

 

Some people believe that if we want to adapt to American society, we must try hard to join the mainstream society.

 

What’s mainstream society? The United States is a culturally diversified society, and we are the members of this society. The concept of “mainstream society” is questionable.

 

Actually, those who argue to join the so-called “mainstream society,” in fact, want to squeeze into an elite society. Traditionally, Chinese educated people always wanted to be the members of literati, the elite class.

 

One of the Confucian ideals is to cultivate personality, manage the family, govern the state, and bring peace to the world, and many of us are still influenced by it.

 

However, we are new comers in this society. We have many disadvantages in terms of language and culture. To climb into the elite society, for some, is by no means wrong, but for the majority of first generation of immigrants, it’s not practical. Therefore, it’s not in the category of cultural identity.

 

In fact, for the first generation of immigrants, cultural identity is not a big deal. We know who we are.

 

But for the second generation, it’s a different story. They speak English as native language, some even don’t speak their native language; they have received education here, some even don’t know their own cultural traditions; they assume that they are Americans and they legally and culturally are Americans. But, sometimes, they are not treated as Americans simply because of their Asian faces. This is simply because the United States is a racist society.

 

Nowadays, people are talking about political correctness. Saying the United States is a racist country is somewhat irritating but provocative.

 

It’s true that the United States is a racist country. If not, we don’t have to deal with identity problem.

 

The United States is regarded as a melting pot in which there are people from all over the world. However, the mainstream American culture is carried by WASPS. Other people are somewhat marginalized.

 

As a minority group, some of us want to join the so-called “mainstream society” by intensively improving English, regularly going to church, watching football and playing gulf, and doing anything to try to identify them with that part of society.

 

However, no mater how hard we try, we can’t change our identity. We can’t afford to take cosmetic surgery to change the size of our nose and the color of our skin. We can’t change our appetite for American food. Even you succeed in doing so, and I don’t think you may live a comfortable life in this society.

 

Now we are in an ongoing process of globalization, and people often say that we are living in a global village. However, people have a natural tendency to divide themselves into different groups. We don’t say we are human beings, but we say we are Americans, Chinese, or Japanese. We like identify ourselves with the people like us.

 

Unlike the early Puritans, who came to North America in the 17th century and formed their own government and conquered American Indians and eventually became the master of the new continent, we came to the U.S. so late. We have to speak English, follow the rules set by others, and some of us have to start a new career for living.

 

It’s true that we need to understand American culture, history and society, get along with other ethnic groups, and find right places in the society. But we should also be proud of our cultural identity. Be yourself! In doing so, we may make American society more interesting and colorful, and make yourselves feel more comfortable.