Displaced Identity: Culture Here and There

America is an extremely unique country in that nearly every single inhabitant, citizen or not, has their roots in another country. During the colonial period, the indigenous native peoples were all but wiped out and are now reduced to almost meager populations. What ensued over the next three centuries were wave after wave after wave of immigrations, starting with Northern and Western Europeans, moving furthermore to Southern and Eastern Europeans, East Asians, and Latin Americans. Immigration has continued to intensify as time has gone on, motivated my the promise (or rather, premise) of a "better life" that comes with enhanced economic opportunity as well as political, social, and religious freedoms.

However, it is quite obvious that the many millions of people who emigrated to this country did not leave their respective cultures behind. Rather, they brought their cultures with them in full-force and projected it onto as large a scale as possible. This is tremendously evident in all aspects of our lives today. The most prevalent example that comes to mind is when going out for a meal. A common question asked is "What do you feel like eating?". More often than not, the response would be "Mexican" or "Italian" or "Chinese". Rarely ever do you hear someone say "American". Also, the traditional ways in which people celebrate their holidays has carried over immensely. While, for many people, "home" is thousands of miles away (and often generations away), their home culture is very close and tangible.
-Dylan Parker