Fredag 9. desember hadde jeg engelsktentamen, og under er besvarelsen min. Jeg går GK Allmenne og administrative fag. Engelsktentamen bestod i å skrive to tekster om amerikansk historie, innvandring og den amerikanske drøm. Jeg vil gjerne ha ros eller slakt - jeg er takknemmelig for alt. :)Edit: Oh my, det var den første smilien i bloggen min.Mixed races What is a typical American? Throughout the years, America has welcomed millions and millions of immigrates. In 1860, there were three census categories; white, black and Hispanic. At that time, it was easy to put someone in a specific group; you could just look at the color of their skin. Today, there are 30 different census categories, 11 of them are Hispanic subsets. People in America today are mixed, so you don’t have the clear lines between the different groups. A typical American isn’t a white settler from Europe, a black ex-slave or a Hispanic fugitive anymore. You got all kind of mix-ups, and therefore you can’t define, ethnically speaking, what a typical American are. Christopher Columbus’ “discovery” of America in 1492 was the start of the immigration to what we now know as the USA. People from Europe sat up trading posts and colonies in America. They saw the possibility of wealth, because “the new land” was rich of natural resources. There were also plenty of space; estimates say that in 1942 there were only 1.5 million inhabitants. From about 1607, large-scale immigration started. People came because they wanted political and religious freedom, and the opportunity to gain a better life. In this period, many Africans were forced to America, and then became slaves. The possibility of making money was one of the most important factors to the settlers, and they used all methods they had available. People may look at the American immigration system as a bit weird. There is no country in the world that is welcoming more immigrants, and about 700,000 people move in to the USA each year. Most of the people in America today are descendants of settlers from Europe. I think that when you know by yourself that you aren’t a Native American, you have empathy with the immigrants. Why refuse immigrants when you are an immigrant by yourself? You somehow, deep in yourself, know how it is to be an immigrant. America has always welcomed immigrants, and there is not much that indicates that there will be an end at this practice. In the next years, we will see more and more racial mix-ups, and there will be even harder to define an American. Today you sometimes can look at a person and say that he or she probably is an American. However, we start to see all kinds of racial mix-ups, and with this mix-up it gets a bit more complicated. In a few generations, there will be even more census categories, and there will be few differences between the three main groups we still use. This is not just about the color of the skin. When so many different people from so many different cultures get mixed, their original culture will gradually disappear. This is sin in one way, but it also got bright sides. If different cultures should live together in one country, they will have to be mixed. If they hold on to their culture and all their traditions, you risk getting more ghettos. In a perfect world, people would have lived together in harmony and still hold on to their culture. The world is not perfect.I think we just have to face it; we live in a world affected by globalization. Frontiers aren’t a hindrance for people anymore, and with the ability to go wherever we want, racial groups get mixed and the three main groups we know today are eventually rubbed out. Exaggerated freedomThere is disagreement about what the American dream really is. It is very hard to define the American dream, but I think I can say that some main points are clear. When the European settlers settled down in what now is known as the USA, they ran away from home. They ran away from misery and famine, and wanted to get a new and better life in “the new country”. They wanted security, freedom and wealth. The majority of Americans today are descendants of the European settlers, and their dream has been inherited from generation to generation. Because of this, freedom, security and wealth are a part of what we now refer to as the American dream. Of these subjects, I think freedom and security are the most interesting. From the first settlers; the dream has been to gain freedom and security. But do Americans today really have freedom and security? If they do, is this freedom good for them?Even if most of the people in America today are descendants of Europeans, no other country in the world has greater diversity. People from all kinds of groups live in the USA, and are mixed into new races. Actually, there are 30 different census categories today. Does the American dream hold America together in spite of their enormous diversity?When so many different people are united under one flag, everything can’t be mirth and jollity. You can’t say for sure that the people who are descendants of European settlers have the same dream as people who aren’t, because they are from a totally different culture. I very much believe that you won’t find the same dreams in a ghetto in Detroit as you find in a rich neighbourhood in Washington D.C. However, the essence in the American dream is the same. People want to be free and feel safe, no matter where in the USA they live. This is one of the most special things with the States, and also one of the best things. Because people want the same, they are more like one nation. Even if the country has great diversity, everyone is united under the same flag. The American flag is like a symbol to the American dream of freedom.Lawsuits are a good example of the situation in the States today. A guy was so unlucky and/or dumb that he drove over himself with his lawn mower. Then he sued himself. Was this guy stupid, or did he just abuse the laws? People have sued hamburger chains for selling food who make them fat. Most people can laugh at this, and think that the people who use lawsuit for such causes are stupid. But what is the reason that lawsuits have been so common? Is it the American administration of so-called justice who is responsible for these weird conditions, or is it the American people that is the problem?This makes me think about an episode of the American TV show South Park. In this episode, everyone sues everyone for everything. Of course both parts (everyone and everyone) got the same lawyer, and there is no lack of enthusiasm from his side. This specific episode is a very good parody of the situation in the states today. What is wrong with a country where lawsuits are the easiest way to solve problems and disagreement?If you look at the American people, you see that they are a people with great confidence and proudness. The American people commonly regard their society as the freest and best in the world, and use the immigration as an example. However, if you take a peek at how it really is to live in the States, you see a people with great insecurity. I think that the lawsuits are an expression of this insecurity; the lawsuits are a weapon in the fight of fulfilling the American dream. People have so great freedom that they can use lawsuits for the weirdest cases, and when they got that opportunity, they use it.Moore’s movie “Bowling for Columbine” is a good picture at this insecurity. Moore’s thought behind this film is to try to understand why some students massacred fellow students and teachers at Columbine High School. He tries to understand a bit more about why guns are so common, and why they are used so much. Moore comes to a very interesting conclusion; he claims that the American people are scared. They are scared of everything, even if they have no specific reason to be scared. If you look at the news, you practically always hear about a murder, a robbery or a terrorist attack in the middle-east. In most of the cases where people with other colours than white are involved, this becomes an important part. Have you ever heard an anchor say “A white man killed another white man in downtown this evening”? There is no secret that non-whites are overrepresented in American prisons, but the media still gives an untrue picture of the real world.The media does not only create xenophobia, it creates all kinds of fear. With all the bad things in the world getting pumped into your head each day, you get a bit paranoid. Who wouldn’t? Does exaggerated news help anything to fulfil the dream of security? The answer is obvious; it only helps creating insecurity.9/11 was a big shock for everyone. Yes, sure they knew it would happen sooner or later, but it still came as a big surprise. Disasters are always surprising, especially for people who live in artificial security. Their beloved president, George W. Bush, promised that the responsible should be “smoked out of their caves”. Why didn’t he smoke out himself and his dad in the first place? There is no doubt that the American foreign policy throughout the years was the cause of 9/11, and the cause of the strong hate against USA. Poor Bush, the foreign policy isn’t easy for him. I think Bush says it best himself; «this foreign policy stuff is a bit frustrating». People believe in bush because he plays on one of the most important things for Americans; the freedom. Americans very much want to be free, and that is also why Bush attack countries that don’t like the USA.I think the Americans’ need of freedom has been exaggerated far too much. I don’t doubt that the intention behind freedom is good, but when you let people have this much freedom, it does not have the wanted effect. People from all racial groups suffer because of this freedom, and Americans today are afraid without having so much to be afraid of. Maybe the American dream actually has become a nightmare?