This are the articles we reviewed for this opinion-based blog:
- http://foreignpolicy.com/2009/10/28/the-hispanic-challenge/
- http://www.wnd.com/2012/04/hispanic-assimilation-has-failed/
- http://www.vdare.com/articles/abolishing-america-contd-no-assimilation-no-nation
- http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/books/2004/06/identity_crisis.html
When Huntington says in The Hispanic Challenge that “Spanish retention is also bolstered by the overwhelming majorities (between 66 percent and 85 percent) of Mexican immigrants and Hispanics who emphasize the need for their children to be fluent in Spanish. These attitudes contrast with those of other immigrant groups.” I agree 100% with this coming from a Hispanic family myself; my parents always want me to speak Spanish at home no matter whom I am with. But this might be different for every family but I do know that most people want their kids to continue to speak their native language so the don’t ever lose it. Hispanic are very proud people, regardless if they are from Mexico or any other South American country; they always want to show their pride in anything they do.
The assimilation of Latinos and Mexicans is a bit frustrating for everyone who is not from Mexico, like myself. I am from Venezuela (Yes, there are other Latin countries besides Mexico) but it is easier for people to group all the Hispanics in one group so they don’t have to worry about all the other countries, but it is upsetting, because we all have different backgrounds. Yes, we can all speak Spanish, but with extremely different accents. This is a big concern, not just for me but also for a lot of Hispanics.
Francis states that “NBC News was right: Given mass immigration, alien languages, alien dress, alien forms of entertainment are “inevitable,” and so is the extinction of the traditional culture and heritage of the nation that welcomes the immigrants.” This is a big statement, when you put it that way, it makes seem like it’s a bad thing, but as a culture, we should always evolve, things are definitely not going to stay the same forever. With the migrating minorities, it’s happening very quickly, so I understand why it would seem that way to them.
Tancredo says “But if only 48 percent of third-generation Hispanic adults describe themselves as Americans first and Peruvians or Mexicans or Cubans second, can anyone say that assimilation is working well for Hispanic immigrants? That glass is clearly not half full. Shouldn’t we expect that third-generation number to be closer to 90 percent?” this reminded me of what Huntington was talking about in his article, but he was explaining the complete opposite. He said that Hispanics ususlly identify from their birth country frist and then some might say that they consider themselves Americans. So who do we believe? I think it depends where you have spent most of your life, for me it was back in Venezuela, so if people ask me where I am from, I don’t even need to think about it.
Fukuyama like that Huntington is bringing awareness to the discussion but he points out a few things that he missed like talking about how Americans only care about working all day, but Fukuyama says that shouldn’t be label to only Americans because there are so many other countries that have people working intensely to get food to their table. Another great point he makes is that “ If it is the case that high levels of immigration are inevitable for developed societies, then what we need to do is to shift the focus from immigration per se to the issue of assimilation” I can totally agree with him, if people are viewing the migration as such a bad thing for the American culture, then they should take matters into their own hands be focusing in things that actually would benefit someone.
Out of all the articles I read I can honestly say I really like the way Fukuyama wrote his. His point of view was persuasive and backed up with facts and he even brought opinions of others to make his point even more clear for the reader. He definitely knows what his talking about; he understands how the culture is evolving with the country’s citizens, as we all should.