| KichiVerde said: There are two types of immigrants in America. Voluntary and involuntary. The involuntary immigrants are those who were made American by force, such as slaves, American Indians and hispanics. Their lands were taken and they were made to assimilate. Their descendants have been continually discriminated against ever since. Voluntary immigrants come to America seeking a better life, but they to must face assimilation or social alienation. You either learn to speak English and adhere to the dominant values of the white supremacist hegemony, or fail to succeed in anything. |
Obviously, many black people did come to America as slaves and could (therefore) were involuntary immigrants; but not all black people came to the United States as slaves, and a lot of black people today (including Barack Obama) are the result of voluntary immigration to the United States. There is an argument that the indigenous people of the United States (much like the indigenous people everywhere) were exploited by more advanced cultures, but claiming they immigrated involuntarily demonstrates a gigantic misunderstanding of what immigration is.
As for hispanics ...
Hispanics have always voluntarily immigrated to the United States and have done so primarily for greater economic opportunity. Where there are exceptions, the vast majority of them have been able to have a much higher standard of living than they would have had in their homeland.
| KichiVerde said: At any rate capitalism is the true enemy. I could write a whole paper about the evils of capitalism, but it's most fundamental flaw is unrealistic sustainability perpetuated by a need for economic growth. In other words capitalism only work if the the economy grows. There are two ways to achieve this. Industrialization or modernization is the first. But for America that is no no longer a possibility. The second is an increase in consumers and laborers. This is why America needs immigrants. And there are 1.3 million entering the country every year. This need for more people will never cease. Population density will increase and more resources will be consumed. The problem is we live in a world where the amount of resources we can consume is finite. If we do not change the market economy model, not only in this country but across the globe, we are headed for a major future crisis. But the hegemony exploits the capitalist model because they benefit from it. They grow richer. But the poor grow poorer. |
First off, Capitalism is the economic system that has increased the standard of living of the poor far beyond what any other economic system has. The average income of the world is between $5,500 and $8,000 (depending on methodology) while in capitalist countries the average income is far higher, with those individuals earning anywhere near the worldwide average being heavily subsidized to have a much larger income.
Beyond that, your complaints about "unrealistic sustainability perpetuated by a need for economic growth" have been echoed for hundreds of years and it would be foolish to believe them now. As we get more and more individuals working in the free market, and these individuals are better educated and become more productive, the quantity and quality of goods and services we provide increases while the cost to create them (or buy them) decreases and the economy grows. Unless you believe that we’re at the technological pinnacle and we cannot advance, the economy will continue to grow.
| KichiVerde said:
America chooses to repress its diversity. But with globalization intercultural and interlingual relations is becoming ever so more important. Therefore we should celebrate our diversity, allow it to flourish and draw strength from it. Immigration will never stop, so why not make the most of it? And by promoting multiculturalism in a way that is mutually beneficial we can all work together to overcome racial and class barriers and focus on what is most important for everyone, our environment and social welfare. But until we cooperate and constructively advocate for change and possibly social revolution, America will continue its decline. |
There are only a handful of countries in the world that are equal or better than the United States as embracing a diversity of cultures; and I would argue Canada is the primary example. Individuals who feel that they're being unfairly repressed in the United States really need to get a global perspective to understand just how good they have it. Certainly, the United States (and every country) could be better but I believe that the way to achieve this is to embrace the massive quantity of successes rather than fixate on the handful of failures.
