For the past few years around the time of my birthday I experience a unique tension from a number of social constructions that have continually molded me into the person I am today. The situation is as follows; My birthday is on September 11Th which happens to coincide with one of the most tragic and infamous events in American history yet I always took pride on my date of birth because it was so close to Mexican Independence day. As I am a child of Mexican immigrants, and therefore a child of Mexico, I observe September 16Th in relatively subdued fashion only because of where I live.

This situation is a small example of the contradiction of our existence. The existence of the Mexican-American in the United States. Although born in this country, many have not forgotten the land of our parents and have become thoroughly familiar with the culture that comes with it. Yet, not everyone of Mexican descent is as familiar with Mexico or it’s culture and this is where this blog comes in. It seems that with the issue of illegal immigration making its way back into the limelight, there will be many opinions being voiced about what a “good” or “bad” immigrant should be like.

This, of course, is a question of assimilation and to what degree it can or should be done. Let’s face it, we have all heard those derogatory terms, “Oreo”, “Twinkie”,” coconut” and I’m sure there are many more. These terms are used by some ethnic minorities to describe an individual who has fully assimilated into the American way of life. It is a visualization; Black, yellow or brown on the outside, white on the inside. Why is there such a resistance to assimilation? It would seem that many people who are of immigrant roots would want to become more Americanized to reflect the place they call home.

One factor to take into consideration is that assimilation is not always a matter of choice. Some ethnic groups are not readily able to assimilate into mainstream America, such as Asians, some Latinos and even African-Americans are still struggling with that. Racism, prejudice and bigotry are still very powerful social factors in the United States today. While on the other hand, Irish, Italians and Germans have done a remarkable job in becoming, unhyphenated Americans.

It would seem that many ethnic groups in the United States are experiencing a cultural reawakening of sorts, where there is visible pride in one’s ethnic background once again. It would also seem that because of this pride, many people are not ready to pay the price that comes with complete assimilation into American society, however there is a price that is paid when one doesn’t assimilate completely as well. Factors such as cultural identity, race, economic class and language are forms of “cultural currency” that could help measure what has been given up, what has been retained and what has been gained by an individual who is in the process of assimilation.

Some “cultural currency” is trivial to most such as eating tortillas or playing futbol (soccer) while other “currency” is controversial such as language and identity. I daresay that it is possible that many immigrants, legal as well as illegal, are here for economic reasons and not because of a love for the United States. I also believe that pride in one’s ethnicity could in many instances be taken as a form of defiance and arrogance to many unhyphenated Americans. For example—although I was born here, I don’t swell up with pride when I hear the American national anthem at ball games,(although I do take my hat off and listen as a sign of respect) as much as I do the Mexican national anthem, the fourth of July feels like someone else’s party every year and and I view the tragedy of 9/11 as a human tragedy rather than an American tragedy, mainly because I also wonder what or who would drive the perpetrators to commit such a horrible and cowardly act.

On a personal level people may find this disturbing but on a national level, to many it is downright frightening. In an election year it is easy to see how many Mexicans and Mexican-Americans can be painted as public enemy number one. Politics has a way of manipulating people’s fears into irrational action. What is important for all of us to realize is that there is fear and perhaps irrational action on both sides.
—Salvador Tejeda blogs at Ndure nide aqui ni de alla