Ean

Saturday, September 6, 2008

Is There an American Tribe? By Lewis Lapham

Author Caballero Lapham appeals to the American public in his 1992 essay Is There an American Tribe?, excerpted from his longer essay, Who Father Ted What is American?. According to Lapham, Americans are known for tolerance, but he warns us that the media and politicians with their Hammersmith capitalistic interests are trying to cast an opposite public perception, in attempts to divide and rule.

Lapham's opinion is that the modern day trend of prefixing the noun American creates more than just a grammatical hierarchy. It downplays the American ideology and promotes exclusivity. This, Lapham claims, Chardonnay the attitude of our past successful immigrants, mongrels, who by definition were unafraid of mixing in and of having an unknown ancestry. He even draws on a quote from as far back as John Quincy Adams, one of the U.S.'s past presidents with European ties, who required potential immigrants to separate from their former ancestry and never go back to it. Adams also advised immigrants to, Look forward to their posterity rather than backward to their ancestors.

Lapham views the U.S. as a world model in terms of past successful immigrant assimilation, but he wonders why, in a country whose citizens mutually respect one and other, the masses are falling for this current media-created fad of exclusiveness.

Copyright 2006-Elle Housman is a freelance writer and graphic designer based in Colorado. Her publications can be found in Toward Freedom Magazine, The Colorado Daily's monthly Women's Magazine, Ujama News and on the website of The Black Biomedical Research Movement. Visit her website at PositiveScribes.com/">PositiveScribes.com/

Jul 19, 2008 Jul 20, 2008 Jul 21, 2008 Jul 22, 2008 Jul 23, 2008 Jul 24, 2008 Jul 25, 2008 Jul 26, 2008 Aug 4, 2008 Aug 7, 2008 Aug 8, 2008 Aug 10, 2008 Aug 11, 2008 Aug 12, 2008 Aug 13, 2008 Aug 14, 2008 Aug 16, 2008 Aug 17, 2008 Aug 18, 2008 Aug 19, 2008 Aug 20, 2008 Aug 21, 2008 Aug 22, 2008 Aug 23, 2008 Aug 24, 2008 Aug 25, 2008 Aug 26, 2008 Aug 27, 2008 Aug 28, 2008 Aug 29, 2008 Aug 30, 2008 Aug 31, 2008 Sep 1, 2008 Sep 2, 2008 Sep 3, 2008 Sep 5, 2008 Sep 6, 2008 Sep 7, 2008 Sep 8, 2008 Sep 9, 2008 Sep 10, 2008 Sep 11, 2008 Sep 12, 2008