why i like country music

Pamela Ugor Eng 500 James Alan McPherson’s, “Why I Like Country Music” is a short story rich in culture, race, and identity. McPherson narrates the story. He begins telling the readers that he and his wife are both black; yet … Continue reading →

symbolic ethnicity

Pamela Ugor

Eng 500

The essay “Symbolic Ethnicity: The Future Of Ethnic Groups And Cultures In America” discusses how immigrants in America from different generations have held on to their ethnicity or how they have assimilated. The essay also looks further into the question of whether these newer generations are rediscovering their ethnicity in symbols or are they just slowly becoming part of the American melting pot.

The information is presented in a debate like way informing us on the side of acculturation and assimilation or the side of ethnic revival through what is seen as symbolic ethnicity. In theory it seems that most ethnic groups of first and second generations assimilated when coming to America. They did this so as not to find persecution from the society in an economic or political way. In addition it was not necessary for immigrants to make their ethnicities shown because it was shown by the way they grouped in to neighborhoods and communities with each other.

Now the question is that as we move into third and fourth and even fifth and sixth generations, are children of these families going to have any connections to their ethnicities or are they going to disappear. An argument is that if symbolic ethnicity continues to grow, in examples such as celebrations of religious holidays or in consumer goods like foods, then there will be ways for these future generations to hold on to their origins. However as things such as intermarriages increase it seems less likely for parent to find dominance in the couple’s ethnicities to pass on to their children.

There are also the issues of changing America. If economic or political statuses in America begin to change or falter it could turn to effect society’s attitude towards peoples of different ethnicities. Although ethnic communities may not want to stem further away from the origins they are trying to preserve, as in earlier times in America they may abandon their ethnicity and assimilate in order to not get hurt in a changing economic or political battle.

In the end it seems it will be up to individuals to decide whether to pass on their origins and practices to their children through things like symbolic ethnicity or to abandon these differentiating ideals and join the melting pot of America. Finally there is the possibility of individuals as they grow to seek out their ethnic backgrounds and reinstitute them in their own lives.

I argue that it is always up to the individual to decide what he or she chooses to be a part of their life. To some ethnicity matters and they chose to keep it alive and possibly celebrate it in their life. To others they assimilate in the sense that they see themselves as one part of a larger picture. Neither take away our individualism. It is our choices that add to our voices and can enrich our lives.