Cultural Assimilation in America
America is the melting pot of the world. Everyone coming to America gradually assimilates into our society. What is assimilation? According to Merriam-Webster, one meaning of assimilation is to absorb into the cultural tradition of a population or group.
When people come to the United States of America, we expect them to learn our language, adopt our traditions and become an American citizen. For doing these things, all foreigners are granted the rights, privileges and protections of all American citizens. To educate people not widely traveled, the benefits of being an American is huge on the international scene.
What should an American’s reaction be to people who do not want to assimilate into our culture? Should we care? What should our reaction be to people who wish to come and impose their culture on us? Should we be accepting and remain politically correct? Do we care if our language in this country becomes Spanish, Arabic, Hindi, Urdu or Sanskrit? Of course, we care!
If you come to America. Learn English. Americans should not have to pick up a phone and be asked to press 1 for instructions in English? Of the hundreds if not thousands of dialects that enter the United States on a yearly basis, what would our country degenerate to if suddenly we did not have the universal language of English.
Do we expect foreigners to adopt to our customs and laws? Of course, we do. We are not going to allow others’ customs or laws become the customs and laws of our land. Foreigners can maintain their cultures as long as they do not try to impose them on us. What happens when they do?
In November 2010, voters in Oklahoma approved a ballot measure to amend the state constitution to ban Sharia law from state courts. The law was then updated to include all foreign or religious laws (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ban_on_sharia_law#cite_note-12).The law was challenged by an official of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. In November 2010 a federal judge ruled the law to be unconstitutional and blocked the state from putting it into effect. The court found the ban had the potential to do harm to Muslims. The invalidation of a will and testament using Sharia instructions was an example. That ruling and injunction were upheld by the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals on January 10, 2012.
Doesn’t banning some of the practices of another culture also do some good for that culture? How many women in the cultures with FMG, female genital mutilation, want to have their female genital mutilated? Can you imagine young women lining up to have their bottoms cut off without the benefits of anesthesia? I sincerely doubt it. Should our country not have laws against this type of child molestation regardless of their religion?
God bless America and God bless you all from the Maverick Doctor,
Rick R. Redalen, M.D.
Pick up a copy of my book “God’s Tiniest Angel and the Last Unicorn,” available on Amazon.
Dr. Rick is a retired American physician, entrepreneur and philanthropist who has done mission work around the country and around the world. He is now on a mission to improve healthcare in America. Visit maverickdoctor.com or email him at rickr@maverickdoctor.com.