Who are Americans?

I

We are all foreign-born or the descendants of foreign-born, and if distinctions are to be made between us they should rightly be on some other ground than indigenousness. The early colonists came over with motives no less colonial than the later. They did not come to be assimilated in an American melting-pot. They did not come to adopt the culture of the American Indian. They had not the smallest intention of "giving themselves without reservation" to the new country. They came to get freedom to live as they wanted. They came to escape from the stifling air and chaos of the old world; they came to make their fortune in a new land. They invented no new social framework. Rather they brought over bodily the old ways to which they had been accustomed. Tightly concentrated on a hostile frontier, they were conservative beyond belief. Their pioneer daring was reserved for the objective conquest of material resources. In their folkways, in their social and political institutions, they were, like every colonial people, slavishly imitative of the mother-country. So that, in spite of the "Revolution," our whole legal and political system remained more English than the English, petrified and unchanging, while in England law developed to meet the needs of the changing times.

II

If we come to find this point of view plausible, we shall have to give up the search for our native "American" culture. With the exception of the South and that New England which, like the Red Indian, seems to be passing into solemn oblivion, there is no distinctively American culture. It is apparently our lot rather to be a federation of cultures. This we have been for half a century, and the war has made it ever more evident that this is what we are destined to remain.

III

Along with dual citizenship we shall have to accept, I think, that free and mobile passage of the immigrant between America and his native land again which now arouses so much prejudice among us. We shall have to accept the immigrant's return for the same reason that we consider justified our own flitting about the earth. To stigmatize the alien who works in America for a few years and returns to his own land, only perhaps to seek American fortune again, is to think in narrow nationalistic terms. It is to ignore the cosmopolitan significance of this migration. It is to ignore the fact that the returning immigrant is often a missionary to an inferior civilization.

Trans-National America, Bourne, Randolph

Atlantic Monthly, 118 (July 1916), 86-97, 09/24/2015

As the first paragraph states, “We are all foreign-born or the descendants of foreign-born….” Everybody who is living in the United States is or come from descend of other countries, only that now the Americans label us. For example, if you are from America Central they label you as Latinos. This paragraph also mention that colonist who came to USA, they came for many reasons. Some of these were freedom and to make fortunes. About freedom, it helped them to create new laws. Freedom could help them to feel the power and to feel superiors and to feel that they were the owners of this country. However, they started to establish their own rules, they did not adapt to the Native American Indians’ rules. They established their rules, taking the advantages of having more power because of their richness and maybe that every day they were more and more. Many people who feel to have power, tend to humiliate others, it could be one of the reason to have slaves, to keep them doing what they wanted. Now, people who are coming as immigrants they have to adopt and respect the rules created for who we called Americans. When they began to stablish its own rules and decisions, it made that country started to have some limitations, and that each person who is coming to this country has to adopt to their rules and recognize that they are the Americans. About the second paragraph, I think since people contribute to this country, all people could be Americans. I think that any immigrant who come to this country come like any other, to try to get his/her dream of success as person, economic, and to reach a dream. However, the third paragraph, ‘To stigmatize the alien who works in America for a few years and returns to his own land…” This part is true. I think that new immigrants who came to USA think to return back to their countries, they do not want stay here. It not easy to leave your country, your family and maybe your culture, only because you do not have the opportunities of having a better life or facilities of living in better conditions in your countries. They do not come here to stablish new rules anymore, only to work and survive. They came here with a lot dreams which are sometimes forget because the refusal of being immigrants.

Power

Power is also exercised when issues are ''re-framed'' or in other words when the boundaries of discussion are changed. Two examples can be the ''Occupy Wall Street'' movement that reframed the economic discussion in the country to focus on income inequality using terms like ''we are the 99%.'' Also, the ''Black Power'' movement in the late 1960s and 70s that changed the discussion on race in the country by taking a more militant stance than the earlier civil rights movement, as well as, focusing more attention on institutionalized racism in the North. By changing the debate, or reframing the issues, these groups were able to exercise power.
The concept of power was further expanded on by sociologist Steven Lukes who argued there are actually ''three dimensions of power'': the first being political decisions (Dahl), the second is framing (Bachrach and Baratz), and the third is power to influence values or social norms. Lukes argues it is ultimately what people consider to be right or wrong, or normal, that will influence what choices are available and what decisions are made.

Prof. Murdaco (http://theamericanpoliticalsystem.blogspot.com/2015/09/912-power.html)

For me the meaning of this passage is when people are together fighting for what they want they can obtain more power. This passage explains that when people are united is when they get strengths to confront any issues. For example, any social problems, like in our communities problems, or other problems which are affecting many people. However, many people think they cannot make any difference and they prefer to stay out of groups that are trying to change the policy. These passages emphasize movements like “Occupy wall Street” and ‘’Black Power,” which fought for their rights. These movements can be good examples of how to create awareness about something that is causing discomfort in our lives. However, when people are united in any country the government can recognize that not only the government can have power in the nation. Moreover, like Steven Lukes argued about the” three dimension of power,” first S. Lukas mentioned political decision, second is framing, and third power to influence values or social norms. In my opinion, there may be more. About our political issues, everyone thinks they have the solution. Also, not every problem applies to everyone. For example, people who have enough food at their home do not think about malnourishment. We do not have a balance for all types of problems. The government does not always try to resolve the problems in the ways the people want. People will realize if the nation will need a change or continue with the same government, after they think about which candidates they voted for.

I choose this passage because every day we see injustice around the world, not only in the USA. At least I like the USA justice system more in this country than my own country. I like when people can fight for their rights and they can be heard and can find solutions when they unite their voices. When people are respect the country’s rules and they are also respected too, they like the system in which they are living.