The widespread use of Spanish in the southwest is usually cited as a problem, but Chinese is common in large cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York, and waves of immigrants form different parts of the world add to the number who speak a second language either as their only language or as their primary language. Vietnamese became a more common language after a large number of refugees from the war in Vietnam came to the United States in the 1970s, and as for other immigrant populations, the second generation in particular has adopted English as their primary language.
Amy Tan represents the second generation in the Chinese community and writes about the differences between herself and her mother and her mother's generation. Tan has a different cultural background than most Americans, but she also shares much about American culture and shows in her writings how much even her mother has adopted of American ideas and practices. Amy Tan herself was born in 1952 in Oakland, and she is herself a member of the culture she describes in her writings. The fact that many of her characters retain ties to China and to Chinese ways does not lessen their American identity, for accepting such differences is, as noted, a key part of the American identity.
The American identity also involves a belief in freedom, which in practical terms means freedom to develop an individual identity and to do so in whatever ways the individual chooses, so long as no one else is harmed. This idea has at times produced such a libertarian streak that it has created a backlash, as is hinted at by Laura Vanderkam when she writes about the new concept of "hooking up" as part of the aftermath of the sexual revolution. She refers to the current generation of young people as Organization Kid culture and finds that the practice of "hooking up" now "pervades...
In truth, this is only one manifestation of American identity, but so is Christian fundamentalism and the more repressive social structure that that can spawn. Freedom to make personal choices is the real key to the American identity, and this is only another aspect of the increasing tolerance that marks the American experience and that is part of the American identity.
Aurora Levins Morales in her poem "Child of the Americas" in which the poet expresses some uncertainty as to her own identity, whether that be black, white, or Indian. She believes that most Americans have a sense of their identity that defines them in such terms and that those who have such a clearly defined identity look down on people like Morales, who do not. In truth, though, most Americans have only a vague sense of their own identity. If they define themselves as black or white, that is not a definition of their identity as an American, bause Americans are both black and white and a number of other colors. If they define themselves as male or female, that is also not part of their American identity, which encompasses both. The American identity embodies many of these elements and can make an American appear as a citizen of the world, but under these superficial differences is the basic belief in freedom, equality, and the rule of law for all. This is what maintains the ongoing promotion of what is seen as good in government and the watchfulness for any betrayal of those principles.
Works Cited
Jefferson, Thomas. "The Declaration of Independence."
Morales, Aurora Levins. "Child of the Americas."
Tan, Amy.
Vanderkam, Laura. "Hookups Starve the Soul."
