I Am Fifty Percent Essay

I’d like to start by talking about the value of fifty percent. Fifty percent equals one half of a whole, it is more than zero, but less than one hundred percent, which is whole. Fifty percent is incomplete. Everyone in this room can agree with these statements as fact. It’s a simple matter of taking the value of something. But what about value in people? I am fifty percent Hispanic. I am one half. I am more Hispanic than not, but I am less than hundred percent. If these statements coincide with the value of fifty percent, does this also mean I am incomplete? I am proud to be what I am. I am an American, but moreso, I am a person. I was born here, and I was raised here. I have a mixed background, but name one person in this room today who does not, because as far an anyone should be concerned, unless you are Native American, none of your ancestors are American either. Still, several are trying to limit rights of Hispanic and Mexican people on debilitated grounds we are not American? …show more content…
The simple answer would be the American Dream, because written in the Declaration of Independence it states every person has the right to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” and “all men are created equal”. The same words your own ancestors heard before making their own decision to immigrate to the United States. So what’s the difference? Why are Mexican people any different? Is it the color of our skin? Is it language? Or is it because you point fingers and call us criminals for preferring to enter this country illegally. A choice made willingly rather than waiting for the government to decide the fate of a family is even more terrifying. From this perspective, one would ask, why doesn’t the government rebuild this obscenely broken system? Alternatively, the government has shamefully drug its feet for far too long on this matter and have subsequently turned around and placed the blame on