Ranvir Thapar Q2 Blog 5 - Confused
The other day I was having my weekly debrief session with my family at Sunday lunch and the inevitable topic of politics arose and my dad said something that I thought was really interesting, he said, “America is confused.”
It sounds like he’s describing the average indecisive teenager when they are asked where they want to eat out that night. But as I lay down staring at my ceiling that night I wondered, did my dad have a point?
America is based on the idea that anyone can be America… right? After all we are a country of immigrants, but somehow some way that got lost in translation, especially over the last few decades. The xenophobia only intensified after President Trump’s first term in office and is now at an all time high since the anti-Muslim sentiment post 9/11. At our very core, America is confused.
We don’t know who to identify as American, is it the rich white person? Is it all white people? Is that a label only saved for US born citizens or do naturalized citizens count as American?
By law an American is any person born in the United States or a person who becomes a naturalized citizen later in life. But then why am I treated differently than a white American my age. Why do people automatically assume that I am going to be either an engineer or doctor? America is supposed to be the land of opportunity where any can be whoever they want. That is the American dream, or at least it was.
That’s why America is confused, we don’t know if we are still free, whether or not we still have the same freedoms available to us that we had a few years ago. We don’t know who is controlling the media, or who is making the decisions about our economy, politics, and even human rights.
So yes I agree, America is confused.
Whether it is because of our political leadership, societal influence, or even social media, one thing is for sure, the erosion of America and who we are is becoming more and more prevalent everyday.
Hi Ranvir I thought the sentiment of your blog was refreshing, and yes despite being immigrants indian dads have the most profound thoughts of all time, regardless I thought your idea (or your dad's really) of america being confused. However, I'd like to push a new narrative, I believe America is not confused, well its citizens at least I think most people in America have a clear view of what they wished our country looked like and who they identify as American. However these beliefs and ideals are on many many different ends of the spectrum and I believe this is where confusion regarding American Identity stems from. We do know what we want we all just want such different things we are confused on how to achieve it. But I see where you're coming from about America being confused. I also appreciated your use of situational irony throughout your blog. America as referred to as a constitutional country, the document itself being the lay of the land so if our holy constitution says that everyone who legally lives in America why is that not reflected in the country's actions? Safe to say, your blog got me thinking a lot, I enjoyed your funny image and the profound thought behind this. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteYes, I do agree that it would make sense to call America, as a country, “confused” at face value, and look at it with disapproval. However, I can’t help but feel that that is just a byproduct of the way this country works: The United States has the largest amount of immigrants out of any country, of course there are conflicting interests which make the country as a whole seem confused.
ReplyDeleteThis kind of thing happens in other places too; a very drastic example would be the conflict between Israel and Palestine who, in theory, live within one country’s borders but are in directly conflicting situations. This is just the sort of thing you get with vastly differing groups having to suddenly coexist in one place as a result of one pivotal world event or another. America is very large (not just land-wise, as it has double Russia’s population), so of course it’s going to be confused.
But it is crucial to remember that we are looking at this from an insider perspective. The United States isn’t particularly special in terms of the control over the economy, politics, media, and human rights being tugged back and forth between parties—there are countries which are just as, if not more, polarized than us (Argentina, for instance, which I just learned).
I’d also like to briefly mention that the clarity of your blog made for a great read, though the flow was impeded by small errors in grammar at times. Otherwise, great job!
Hi Ranvir! I completely agree with your stance on America being confused, but I also have to admit, I feel like America has been confused since our inception.
ReplyDeleteI look back to APWH (I hope that mention didn’t give you whiplash), and the fact that the United States failed to recognize Haiti as an independent country almost sixty years after it won its independence. I find that maddening, as both countries were founded on the Enlightenment ideal of all men (emphasis on men, but hey, women have (maybe) gotten there???) being equal.
I fear that we have always been in this limbo. We claim that we are the land of the free, but we kick out people who are here legally for speaking out against our government. We claim that we and the home of the brave, but we don’t take care of our veterans at all!
While I agree with your argument, I feel like the confusion that our country is feeling doesn’t garner sympathy from me anymore. It has just become willful ignorance.