Essay on Coming to America
The assimilation is a natural process that involves all immigrants arriving to the new country. In this regard, the US society also tends to the assimilation of immigrants but, being historically the nation of immigrants, the US society has managed to provide immigrants with relatively easy and fast assimilation, while each group of immigrants can still preserve its traditions. In such a way, the process of assimilation of immigrants in the US involves the integration of immigrants in the mainstream life of the American society, sharing fundamental values and norms of the US society, such as democracy, respect of human rights and others. On the other hand, immigrants can preserve their cultural identity within their ethnic group but still all of them are Americans.
Thus, the spirit of Americanization arises that means that immigrants arriving to the US feel that others are immigrants or ancestors of native born Americans were immigrants but they have sheer American way of life, values and norms. Therefore, to be Americanized means to accept norms and lifestyle of native born Americans. However, immigrants are not forced to abandon their traditions but they should learn the lifestyle of Americans and American culture to integrate in the life of the US society successfully.
In fact, immigrants have to assimilate. Otherwise, they will be unable to integrate into the life of the American society. Even though they can live in their communities but they have to understand and respect American culture and traditions to become a part of the nation. If they fail to assimilate, they often become outcasts. Moreover, every next generation of immigrants becomes more and more Americanized to the extent and the second generation of immigrants is more Americanized than the first one and serious generation and cultural gaps may arise between them.
Part 2
Immigrants arriving to the US had to start a new life in the new country. Often starting a new life was difficult, but female immigrants were in a particularly difficult position because they had substantial problems with the integration in the new society with quite different social norms and standards. In the past, female immigrants were vulnerable to a considerable pressure from the part of their community and Americans. For instance, immigrants arriving to the US settled in their communities, which were populated either by immigrants or people of the same origin. However, women held inferior position in their communities as well as in the American society. In the course of time, the situation has started to change as the feminist movement rose in the US and women got equal rights and liberties compared to men. However, today, female immigrants, especially from Asian or Latin American countries, because they used to inferior position, while the American society is accustomed to pro-active position of women, who are treated as being equal to men. As a result, many female immigrants face the problem of the wide gap between their traditional culture and gender role in their community and America traditions and gender roles. In such a way, they may have difficulties with the integration into the American society because of their deep-rooted inferiority.
Nevertheless, whether male or females, immigrants keep moving to the US. The immigration is a natural and, to a significant extent, essential process. The immigration maintains the balance of labor force and improves the demographic situation in the US preventing aging of the nation.
