The United States of America is a Nation Born out of Several Historical Events - Admission/Application Essay Example

United s of America is a nation born out of several historical events elsewhere; a nation of emigrants from far off lands. Cosmopolitanism has been the way of life and immigrant populations been the building blocks of this country which is pertinently referred to as the ‘melting pot’ and the ‘salad bowl’ of cultures. The infinite waves of the ocean that seek refuge under the towering figure of the ‘Mother of Exile’ (Statue of Liberty), poetically symbolizes the surges of immigrants which came time to time to this land of promises. America has not always treated fairly the asylum seekers as we see in the Mexican immigrant problem which had always an edge of controversy hovering around it. But there existed a host of laws and an open mindset which provided some kind of security even to the illegal immigrants, at least until the twin towers fell. The terrorist attack on World Trade Centre was a turning point in America’s history, an experience which after all these years, the Americans have not come to terms to. The panic, hostilities and the fear psychosis linger, most prominently in the Government’s foreign policy decisions. One of the most remarkable observations made in this regard has been what Dan Tschirgi has written in his book, Turning Point: the Arab worlds marginalization and international security after 9/11. He has held that: the American “debate” over 9/11 failed to focus on fundamental questions and turned instead to issues regarding the strategy and tactics that should be employed to counter the threat embodied by 9/11.” (Tschirgi 3) Tschirgi goes on to cite the words of George Bush who on the eve of the attack said, “America was targeted for attack because we’re the brightest beacon for freedom and opportunity in the world” and raises the question whether this was the only reason behind the attack ( 4). What this writer invites our attention is to the economic and social injustices in a global scenario which mobilize people into absolutist and violent action and the role United States of America in precipitating at least some of their miseries (Tschirgi 7). Tschirgi’s arguments weigh a lot while studying the emergence of neo-conservatism in the realm of US politics and social outlook. He strikes a chord when saying that after the collapse of USSR, the neo-conservatives in US had explicitly outlined their vision of America as the one and only superpower in the world, quite publicly( Tschirgi 11). This view imparted considerable influence in American society also. Soon after, the ‘evil’ that used to be USSR was being replaced by Islam and the Muslim world in the minds of average Americans. The serious and dangerous problem with the popular American perspective links to this phenomenon of considering itself as a super power rightfully in charge of the whole world. This preconception is what gets reflected in the responses to 9/11 also. To revert to the avowed values of equality, freedom, democracy and cosmopolitanism, Tschirgi argues, America needs to practice them not alone in its own society, but also in connection with the international society. If the country can sit back and take score of the impacts of its foreign policy not only in matters of security, but also regarding the capitalist exploitation of the third world championed by American multinationals, a new, more peaceful, world order has a chance to emerge. This is what Bill Clinton, former American President, has also put forth in his Richard Dimbleby lecture in London, as quoted by Tschirgi in the same book.(7) Tschirgi concludes his discourse by suggesting that America should stop its support to Israeli expansionism and withdraw its forces from Iraq thereby rectifying the feeling of marginalization imparted to the Muslim world (169). If all these stand as ample reason to the formation of a negative image of America in the eyes of the outside world and escalate hatred towards US, in the domestic level, the xenophobia of the American society gets expressed in the form of hostility towards the immigrant population. This whole business of mutual mistrust has become a multi-way, complex process. The website of American Civil Liberties Union cites the Inspector General of the Justice Department of USA on a report stating that the Terrorist Screening Center (the FBI-administered organization that consolidates terrorist watch list information in the United States) had over 700,000 names in its database as of April 2007 - and that the list was growing by an average of over 20,000 records per month. “By these numbers, the list now has over one million names on it,” says the website. Revealing that even Nelson Mandela, the winner of Nobel Peace Prize, figures in the terrorist watch list of United States, American Civil Liberties Union attributes such an absurd listing to fear, racism and xenophobia in the aftermath of September 11, 2001 attack. The section which is most directly affected by this situation is the immigrants of USA. Figures point out that as on 2004, immigrants in US amount to 12 percent of the total population (Hanson 11) 10 million illegal immigrants are also living in this country. The opinion in the country is divided regarding how to approach this phenomenon. Business lobbies want free immigration so that they get cheap labor. But there are many opposing groups who are against open borders. These contrasting pressure groups force the government, in an attempt to please both, to dilute their border vigil and allow less visible types of illegal immigration (Hanson 11). While such lapses often take place and go without raising even the pretension of an alarm, the legal immigrants are made to bear the brunt of false security alarms and racist apprehensions. The American Supreme Court had ruled that public education and emergency medical services should not be denied to foreign –born residents, even those in the country illegally. (Hanson, 17). But in the aftermath of 9/11, hundreds and thousands of incidents have been reported in which, immigrant people were obstructed in the midst of their voyage, questioned under undemocratic circumstances, arrested and held illegally, all in the name of national security. The website of American Civil Liberties Union has narrated several instances when persons with non-American names had trouble with the American security system. The examples include, “ Akif Rahman, founder of a computer consulting company from suburban Chicago” who was “detained and questioned for more than two hours by U.S. customs officials on four separate occasions when crossing the Canadian border” and Asif Iqbal, a Rochester, NY, management consultant and University of Texas graduate who flies weekly to Syracuse for business” who has been “weekly detained and interrogated by local law enforcement.” Geneive Abdo, liaison for the United Nation’s Alliance of Civilizations, a project created by the UN Secretary General to improve relations between Western and Islamic societies, writes in her book, Mecca and Main Street: Muslim Life in America After 9/11, “much of America had embraced a black-and-white view: muslims are terrorists; Islam is a religion of violence; Muslims are backward; Muslims are vengeful toward the west.” (3) Expressing concern over the “increasing bigotry, stereotyping and hate crimes,” (Abdo, 5-6) in American society, the author narrates the first person experience she had while campaigning for a Muslim candidate in San Francisco in the elections to the U.S. Congress and the shock of finding out that everyone except one person in a street where they went, were against a Muslim candidate. (Abdo 2) The examples and situations cited above prove that both the theories of assimilation (melting pot) and ethnic pluralism ( salad bowl) have not helped the immigrants to feel at home in the present USA. A huge percentage of immigrants still are low skilled laborers. Assimilation does not always ensure them equal opportunities in the democratic polity. So there are alternating generations who oscillate from hope to despair, who either submerge themselves in American national self or undertake extremely illogical cultural returns in search of ethnic identities. A hostile government and discriminatory labor market make the situation still worse. As there are two sides to a coin, so are there arguments against immigrant welfare measures existing in the country. The consequences of immigrant influx include lesser opportunities for low-skilled native laborers, more taxation to implement welfare measures for the immigrants and also the renewed fear about national security. Last but not least, there is a perceived threat to US culture also from the different immigrant cultures. But such arguments overlook the contribution of immigrants to the US economy. Gordon Hanson reminds the American society that all the meatpacking plants in the Great Plains, the poultry processing facilities in the South and the textile factories in the South East would not have been possible if not for the cheap manual labor of the immigrants, that too at the cost of these laborers existing under pathetic living conditions. (23) The discourse on immigrant problem is going to stay volatile for a long while in USA. Moderate and extreme voices will continue to compete for space in American polity also. What the world has and US has not yet realized is that war is a crime against humanity as terrorism is. The ‘war on terrorism’ not only shatters the countries that are targeted but also destroys the social fabric of USA itself by alienating a great chunk of its population, namely, the immigrants. America has long back “lifted her lamp by the garden door” when there was no other refuge for the “homeless, the tempest-tost.” A population raised on the memories of that legacy can bring back security and rectify the wrong policies of its governors. America’s solutions lie in peace and international fair play, not in war and persecution. The process of peace which was initiated by Bill Clinton in the Middle-East was a reassuring initiative which lacked continuity under the Bush regime. The World is looking forward to such brave steps. Works Cited Tschirgi, Dan. Turning Point: the Arab Worlds Marginalization and International Security after 9/11. Westport: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2007. The American Civil Liberties Union Web site. 14th July, 2008. 1st March, 2009. . Hanson, Gordon Howard. Why Does Immigration Divide America?: Public Finance and Political Opposition to Open Borders. Washington DC: Peterson Institute, 2005. Abdo, Geneive. Mecca and Main Street: Muslim Life in America After 9/11. Oxford: Oxford University Press US, 2006. Read More