Chrystian Sears
Professor Batty
English 28
13 December 2018
Though some people may argue that immigrants should assimilate to American
culture, I say immigrants should maintain their culture when traveling to the United
States. Obtaining an American culture has its benefits of course but keeping their own
culture will be more beneficial for them and those in their environment as well. The
diversity in the workforce is well appreciated by almost all companies, America’s culture
has been shaped by the cultural diversity brought into this country by different people for
several years. Also, most families have a tradition to keep alive that is very important to
presented to them when they sort of “fit in”, or gel with their surrounding peers. Being
culturally diviated, people will immigrants as being different and may be subjected to
dealing with racism and discrimination on any given day in America where racism is very
common. According to an article written by Desiree Baolian Qin, Niobe Way, and
Meenal Rana, “Recent research shows that Asian American youth consistently report
higher levels of peer discrimination and harassment in and out of school than their
non-Asian peers.” (Desiree Baolian Qin, Niobe Way, Meenal Rana). These are just one
Sears 2
of the issues that immigrants have to deal with if keeping their culture that much of
importance to them. discrimination not only on the street or at a simple convenience store
but in our schools as well where students should feel free and accepted is unacceptable.
This could make living in America very difficult and allows a person to question whether
or not their culture is worth enduring such hardship. Keeping a culture has more benefits
When migrating to America, immigrants may not be able to travel with all of
personal possessions but one of the few things they can take with them is their culture
simply because a culture does not have to be anything physical. Culture can be defined
through music or art but it can also be regarded as intellectual achievement and
philosophy. The culture in America is so diverse that you can not specify it without
identifying the numerous amounts of different cultures within America. William Branigin
states that multiculturalism is in fact apart of America’s’ way of life. His statement, “The
other aspects of traditional American core values are ones that have been embraced by
immigrant peoples as diversity and multiculturalism have taken root in the United
States,” (William Branigin) touches on the conventional values of how America is based
on the engaging of different cultures and each one being accepted into American society.
There are many benefits of being surrounded by people who are culturally
diverse. Having differences within a working environment is very good for business and
Diversity in the Workplace,” Hult Blog by Katie Reynalds. She also states that hiring
Sears 3
people of multicultural backgrounds will bring people of better skill and benefit from
their success, it is a great opportunity for professional and personal growth, and that
diversity an important part of the recruiting process will broaden your talent pool of
prospective employees. Not only does hiring from a more diverse talent pool makes your
business attractive to ambitious, globally minded candidates, it also helps you to keep
them on board.” (Katie Reynalds). By hiring people of contrasting cultures, it will in fact
improve organizations significantly and will keep people on board with your workforce.
Besides the cultures of immigrants making America so diverse, the topic can not
be fully covered if the importance of keeping their culture was not brought up. In an
excerpt from, “How to Tame a Wild Tongue,” by Gloria Anzaldua, she tells a story of
remarks were made to her such as, “Pocho, cultural traitor, you’re speaking the
oppressor’s language by speaking English, you’re ruining the Spanish language,” and this
As studies show, assimilating to American culture is not such a bad thing. As well
as retaining one’s own culture will not negatively affect a person as well. Personally, I
believe anybody has the right to be able to choose whether or not they keep or change
their culture. When it comes to deciding whether or not someone should adopt America’s
culture, I suggest they just keep their culture and continue to carry on the tradition of
keeping the United States culturally diverse. In a way, it is very important that
immigrants keep their culture when coming into this country. Their culture is the
Sears 4
backbone of our multiculturalism and without that, who knows where our society would
be had we not observed, accepted, and adopted some new things from migrants. Again,
assimilating to American culture definitely has advantages of its own. For example, an
immigrant would blend right into society and do not raise any eyebrows due to adapting
a common way of life in America. Those who stick with their old culture have been
statistically proven to thrive and do better in this type of society. Yes, they will face
hardship but there is an obstacle in almost challenge we as people face. The one thing
that almost all cultures have in common is that we learn how to overcome these obstacles.
Sears 5
Reynolds, Katie. “13 Benefits and Challenges of Cultural Diversity in the Workplace Hult Blog.”
www.hult.edu/blog/benefits-challenges-cultural-diversity-workplace/.
"Immigrants Shunning the Idea of Assimilation." Family in Society: Essential Primary Sources,
edited by K. Lee Lerner, et al., Gale, 2006, pp. 429-434. Opposing Viewpoints in Context,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/CX2688300166/OVIC?u=lavc_main&sid=OVIC&xi
Qin, Desiree Baolian, et al. “The ‘Model Minority’ and Their Discontent: Examining
Directions for Child & Adolescent Development, vol. 2008, no. 121, Fall 2008, pp.