In a world that is becoming more interconnected and globalized, understanding the thought process of a first-generation American will help build better communities and stronger economies. Now before I go any further, let me define what a first-generation American is. A first generation American is somebody who was born here but with parents from a different country or somebody who was here at a very young age.
The population of first generation Americans continues to grow and has reached 19.7 million. One of the biggest struggles that this population encounter is embracing two different cultures as they grow up. They have to grow up with the culture at home, which is the culture their parents brought here. There are things they bring like language, religion, and food that are just different from what has been established in this country. The second culture they have to adapt to is the American culture, which they encounter in most places outside their homes, like at work or school. Things in the American culture like football, hot dogs and hamburgers, and the love for guns is different from what they deal with at home. I am a Mexican-American and have personally dealt with this. I grew up learning two languages, two cultures, and two ways of carrying myself.
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The issue with living in two different cultures is when they start to interweave with each other. To explain this, I will continue utilizing American football as an example because not only is it something big in America but it is something that most others countries do not have in their cultures. Let's say a young first generation American starts hearing about the entire buzz around football in school and they decide they are going to watch a game. When a first-generation American turns on a football game at home, their parents may look at it as some wrong and maybe even obsolete because it is something they did not have as they were growing up.
This causes this person to second guess whether they should pay attention to football. If they accept it then their parents may frown upon their decision. If they reject football, then they will face scrutiny from the other side. Americans will ask how they cannot like something such as American as football. Hence, this person never fully embraces one culture or the other because of the negativity that can come from either side.
This is something that has been happening in America since it was first founded. Whether it was Europeans coming through Ellis Island or Asians coming through Angel Island in the late 1800s or the more recent waves of people coming from Central America through the southern border, there has always been people who have brought new cultures here. This country at times has reacted by restricting the immigration waves, or by isolating and attacking those who here.
They are afraid that these new cultures are going to affect their way of living. However, time has proven that the best way to handle the new cultures brought to this country by immigrants is to embrace them. That is why America is known as the melting pot of the world. It has mixed up all kinds of great ideas from different cultures to become what it is. Unless you are a Native American then at some point your ancestors were a first-generation American who encountered these same issues. They had to hold on to their own culture while learning the American way of doing things
First-generation Americans have been quite successful. Many witnesses the struggles that their parents go through as they live in a country outside of the one they were raised in. People like Walt Disney, Colin Powell, Joe DiMaggio, and Steve Jobs were children of immigrants. They are people who had to grow up in the first generation American environment but were able to make a great impact on the world we live in. Walt Disney changed the cinematic world with his animated movies. Colin Powell helped the Bush administration as the secretary of state. DiMaggio dominated the sport of baseball with his arm in the outfield and swing at the plate. Steve Jobs revolutionized the technological world to such an extent that you may be reading this article on one of the devices he invented. There are countless more such as President Obama, Larry King, Bruce Lee, and Louis CK who have done great things as children of immigrants. They help to prove that first generation Americans can be successful people.
If you are an American, I ask you to think twice before you react when you see a first generation American doing something cultural that you are unfamiliar with because they are just embracing their heritage. If you are somebody born from a different country then I ask you to be more understanding when you see a first-generation American doing something the American way because they are embracing the good this country has to offer. This is not for making one culture better than the other, it is about making America and the world a better place for us all.
