On American Ethnicity

America is an interesting country.

It is, for instance, the first country to take people of many different nations, ethnicities, and religions and getting them to live together in peace (more or less). This is why America is known as a "Melting Pot". It's cultural diversity, we are told, is one thing that makes America strong. Ethnic groups celebrate their differences, highlight them, and display them.

There is good reason for this. For the longest time, America refused to acknowledge people for there contributions on the basis of ethnicity. The Civil Rights movement changed this for the better.

Many ethnic groups rose up during that period. The Asian-Americans, The Hispanic-Americans, The African-Americans, and European-Americans. This protects the new immigrants into America.

This is also against American policy in the past. It's diversity isn't really its greatest strength. Its ability to combine these different ethnicities into a single super-ethnicity; otherwise known as the American identity.

It always shocks me when I see people who are second generation (or greater) describe themselves as one of the ethnicities mentioned above. Unless you are born outside of America, you are American.[/pre]