American Identity

Paper Summary:

This paper argues that there is a vital need for one national identity in America, since without such there can be no true American culture. The paper examines the concept of multiculturalism and concludes that this concept cannot work for America because of the wide range of societies that exist in the country which need to be unified.

From the Paper:

"Some people claim that multiculturalism itself should be the defining characteristic of a single American identity. "In fact," says one critic, "one may even postulate that the 'true' American citizen should be multicultural almost by definition. By 'true' here I mean the type of citizenship that conforms closely to the political ideals embedded in the American Constitution" (Alexander Makedon). This does not seem too unreasonable at first glance, although it is ironic that this pro-multicultural stance draws on a nationalism more commonly beloved of assimilationists. The author of the article is clearly a great supporter of the American "political ideals", which he claims are multicultural in nature. He argues that these ideals are in fact the essence of American identity. In effect, then, he is arguing that Americans should support multiculturalism because American ideology is the best, and those who do not support it are not true Americans!"

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