Notions of American Identity

American citizens come from different parts of the world as immigrants, the majority of the people are pursuing the American dream that they want to be associated with. There are many notions of the identity of the Americans in terms of their identity as Americans. Each citizen feels their way when it comes to having their own identity whether they are proud of being Americans or not. Identity is a personal thing and unique from one person to the other. People feel differently depending on what they go through in their daily lives. There are perceptions that people migrate from other parts of the world to pursue the American dream where all the people want to become successful in the activities that they seek.

Some American citizens consider themselves to be real Americans because they believe that they have the rights to access all the resources and privileges that are provided by the state. People who have migrated to the United States while they are adults face challenges with their dignity because they believe people will discriminate them because of their place of origin (McDowell, 38). When the immigrants are treated well once they arrive in America, their dignity remains high because they know that the people will respect them for who they are regardless of the weaknesses that they may be having.  When the immigrants are poorly treated once they arrive in America, they end up having a lowered dignity and hence they will feel as if they are not part of the society.

The primary challenge that has been affecting the dignity of many American people is stereotyping. Stereotyping is where people are judged depending on how other people from similar decent are treated and discriminated against therefore they feel punished for things they did not do (Ogbar). Stereotyping leads to people being punished for the things that they did not do. People who are judged depending on the mistakes done by the people makes them lose the confidence that they used to have in terms of knowing that they are recognized and accepted by American society. The dignity of the people is when they feel that they are worth and understood by the people that they live with, they feel that the various roles that they play in the society are appreciated therefore the can improve and relate with the people in better ways.

People have different levels of confidence, and therefore their possibility of being influenced by the comments and challenges that they go through vary from one person to the other. Some people fear about what others think of them hence they are at higher risk of having issues in terms of how they relate with other people in the society (Fraga, and Gary, 282). The American identity represents the people who are living a good life that they have all the needs that they need in good neighborhoods. When one lacks such resources, they feel as if they are an outcast in the society and hence they must find ways that will restore their dignity. Many of them become gang members are they are trying to live a particular lifestyle that they used to live before.

When a particular community or group of people face challenges that are not met by other people, they tend to be discriminated in terms of the way other people in the community treat them, and this is likely to lower their dignity because they feel as they are lesser than other populations (Kibria, 34). In such situations, their majesties are reduced. Societies in the United States have different levels in terms of success, the people that are not successful live in certain parts of the cities while the successful communities live in other parts of the cities. The difference in theareas that different communities live in. The divisions in the society have made people feel as if they are the lesser groups and hence their dignity is lowered (Kibria, 44). People want to live the same lives as other people in society, and therefore when they live in environments that are not conducive, they will see themselves as if they don’t matter in society.

The people that live in poor neighborhoods get poor services as opposed to the ones that live in communities of the people that are successful. The unequal treatment of the people contributes a lot to the peoples’ dignity being influenced. People desire to live an equal life with other people, but the challenge comes when one lack resources. Receiving unequal services because merely one cannot afford better services makes one lose his or her dignity. The state needs to come up with a way to provide essential services to the people equally regards their social status in society. There should not be discrimination in terms of services provided to the people by the state.

In conclusion, many people are lowered their dignity by the challenges that they face in their lives. When dignity is reduced the people feel as if they are not worthy, they lack confidence and become less productive.

Works cited

Fraga, Luis R., and Gary M. Segura. “Culture clash? Contesting notions of American identity and the effects of Latin American immigration.” Perspectives on Politics 4.2 (2015): 279-287.

Kibria, Nazli. “College and notions of “Asian American”: Second-generation Chinese and Korean Americans negotiate race and identity.” Amerasia Journal 25.1 (2014): 29-51.

Ogbar, Jeffrey OG. Black power: Radical politics and African American identity. Johns Hopkins University Press, 2019.

McDowell, Sara. “Heritage, memory and identity.” The Ashgate research companion to heritage and identity. Hampshire (2016): 37-53.

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