Present Day Research Paper

Words: 1045
Pages: 5

America is known for its freedom, diversity in race, and land of opportunities, these components tie America together and define it. From the very beginning, when America was first declared independent to the present day, Americans have kept a high standard in which they want to be the greatest, biggest, and the most ambivalent of all the other countries. America has undergone many difficulties, obstacles, and changes that have led up to the issues of the present day. There is strong citizenship and power, but an absence and lack of true equality. The American standard has created a society of people that is very diverse yet segregated, willing in the name of power but for the wrong reasons, and has the aspiration to be successful that eventually …show more content…
The United States has become a country that accepts people of all ethical origins, but in society, Americans have never truly accepted immigrants. There has always been a sense of hostility and antagonism towards immigrants. Americans tend to segregate those who are not “original” and native born Americans and distinguish them by hyphenating the ethnicity and the word “American”. Mukherjee states that, “the multiculturalist emphasis on race and ethnicity based groups lead to a lack of respect for individual differences within each group…” The sense of antipathy and dislike of different races/ immigrants still remains in the present day. Americans still have not truly accepted immigrants, and even after one becomes an American citizen, they are still labeled as African-American, Asian-American, etc. Although there are people that do not mind the company of other races, there is still the segregation of what Americans consider the “true” Americans and the hyphenated …show more content…
Americans believe in this high and successful lifestyle, and the only way to live that way is if they own every luxury brand and own the most successful business. This desire to have the “high class” life leads to an exceedingly overwhelming competitive field of consumerism. There is a continuous cycle of want and waste that many people such as Eighner rely on. Americans tend to own and obtain more than they need, and once those items, foods, etc. need to be replenished, and they get thrown away. Eighner questioned, “’ why was this discarded? ’” This telling the reader that seeing brand new and good items go to the waste is very common. Americans tend to be so preoccupied with “newer” things and forget that there are still quality items that they already own. Not only are we wasteful, but we take things for granted. Many restaurants must replenish what is on their shelves which results in older, but preferable, items going to the trash (Eighner). Although consumerism is the only thing that keeps the economy steady, it has caused unethical behavior, such as not valuing anything. Eighner states, “Dumpsters are full of things of some potential value to someone and also of things that never have much intrinsic value but are interesting.” Not only are we wasteful, but we have a