Submitted by: Submitted by jnuin
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Category: English Composition
Date Submitted: 10/16/2014 08:46 AM
Justin Nuin
Professor Michael W. Harper
English 1A
18 September 2014
American Identities
In creating America, Joyce Moser and Ann Watters suggest that ,”in understanding American Identities, we need to come to terms with unity and division, with separateness and common ground.” The logic in which both Joyce Moser and Ann Watters state their argument is contradicting because they talk about how we need to come together as one nation and yet when we are as one nation we try and individualize/separate from one another. Moser and Watters question “Is there a distinctly American Identity?”, and sate that America is lake a melting pot of diverse cultures in the sense that we are all mix in one pot of diversity. What becomes contradicting with that is we strive to be one when at the same time we want to be different and still be divided by cultures. We must have plurality with one another to have this nation grow to be one. The secondary texts “Cult of Ethnicity”, “Loneliness-An American Malady”, “Chicana”, and “Does America still exist , provides both strong evidence toward the theory of American Identity, however strong contradictions between the idea of unity are posed by both Moser and Watters article, and the secondary text.
With the argument both Moser and Watters present, the first article that closely relates to the idea of American Identity that they had was “The Cult of Ethnicities” written by Arthur M. Schlesinger. Schlesinger’s article supports arguments Moser and Watters made about “coming to terms with unity and division, with separateness and common ground” with in America. “The Cult of Ethnicities” talks about the modern communication and ability to be able to be in such a multi-cultural/diverse country like America, Schlesinger states that as a nation we still are on a journey to reach nirvana between each individual and be “one people.” Meaning with such a diverse culture being united, everyone becomes judge free and is accepting of others...