Who Are We?

I never thought I could enjoy reading a social scientist. From what I know, from

Taleb's works and my own experience, many are prone to ignore marginal but vital 

data to fit their models. I have been aware of the author Samuel Huntington for a

while and tried a couple of times his well-known "The Clash of Civilizations and 

the Remaking of World Order." It was full of multi-syllabic words and felt dull.

Instead, I was recently attracted to his 2004 book (he died in 2008), "Who Are

We? The Challenges to America's Identity."

 

It talks about things most relevant to me, as an immigrant, e.g.,

- America as a deeply religious country with an Anglo-Protestant heritage,

- characteristics of the American people,

- concepts such as subnational identity, the Davos man, etc.,

- assimilation of immigrants, etc.,

things that I wish I were told earlier. The truth is, I might have been told

most of these but, buried in work and later hobbies, I was just not interested.

 

The book does not bend backward to be politically correct. On the topic of

immigration and assimilation, e.g., the author shows where he stands at page

256, 

 

    Lionel Sosa ends his book, The Americano Dream, of advice to aspiring

    Hispanic entrepreneurs, with the words: "The Americano dream? It exists, it

    is realistic, and it is there for all of us to share." He is wrong. There is

    no Americano dream. There is only the American dream created by an Anglo-

    Protestant society. Mexican-Americans will share in that dream and in that

    society only if they dream in English. 

    

What if I replace "Americano Dream" with Chinese-American Dream, and "Hispanic" 

and "Mexican" with Chinese? 

 

The narratives in the book and the declaration in the Foreword,

 

    This is, let me make clear, an argument for the importance of Anglo-

    Protestant culture, not for the importance of Anglo-Protestant people.

    

convinced me that the guy was more academic than a racist.

 

Although I might not agree with all the points the author makes, it has been a

start. I feel ready to explore, now that I have acquired some lingo. I can begin

to read, observe, and compare. This reminds me of Skynet acquiring self-awareness.

 

[7grizzly]

回复 '暖冬cool夏' 的评论 : Thank you, 暖冬, for reading and your thoughtful comments.

The book proposes to share certain ideals among citizens, e.g., individualism,
equality, Protestant work ethics, etc., for a strong national identity.

It does not touch closing the gaps between immigrants and the natives. There are
huge disparities even among the natives themselves. My understanding is that
the American dream is more or less an individual choice.

[暖冬cool夏]

This is such a big topic that the answers could be as varied as the races.
"There is only the American dream created by an Anglo-Protestant society. Mexican-Americans will share in that dream and in that society only if they dream in English."--True. Even if they dream in English, the gaping disparity could still exist. I am pessimistic about that:))