The 1908 Zangwill quote states, "God is making the American!. . .the real American has not yet arrived. He will be the fusion of all races, perhaps the coming superman. . .the glory of America, where all races and nations come to labor and look forward.” (Booth, 1998). There are many ways to interpret this quote, including the progress made, and the distance left to go. Progress has been great in the past centuries, with the assimilation of many minority groups into the United States. Unfortunately, there is quite a distance to go to eliminate discrimination and prejudice, once and for all.
The Zangwill Quote When reading the Zangwill quote the reader must look at the quote at its most important point where is says, “God is making the …show more content…
There are people that have shown history can and will repeat itself when it comes to attitudes about immigration. Before the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 about 62% of the people in the United States had a positive attitude on immigration compared to 52% after the attacks (Davidson, 2013). According to Davidson, illegal immigrating from Mexico and Central American had grown in the United States because of the strict rules on immigration due to the high priority on national security (2013). The immigrants who were allowed into the United States reported having to deal with discrimination of some kind when they arrived (Davidson, 2013). They also reported that they were more likely to live in communities with people of similar backgrounds, because of the discrimination they experienced (Davidson, 2013). When new immigrants and other ethnic groups hear politicians talking about taking their country back or watch rallies on television with people screaming about taking their country back, it can be very disconcerting to minority immigrants. This kind of language is contrary to Zangwill’s quote. Some people would probably believe that saying “take our country back” feeds into the same kind xenophobic attitudes that were displayed when the Irish and Eastern European people first came to the United States (DeWind, 2011). If these attitudes persist, the fusion of races will be delayed and minorities will stay segregated in communities were they feel
The Zangwill Quote When reading the Zangwill quote the reader must look at the quote at its most important point where is says, “God is making the …show more content…
There are people that have shown history can and will repeat itself when it comes to attitudes about immigration. Before the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 about 62% of the people in the United States had a positive attitude on immigration compared to 52% after the attacks (Davidson, 2013). According to Davidson, illegal immigrating from Mexico and Central American had grown in the United States because of the strict rules on immigration due to the high priority on national security (2013). The immigrants who were allowed into the United States reported having to deal with discrimination of some kind when they arrived (Davidson, 2013). They also reported that they were more likely to live in communities with people of similar backgrounds, because of the discrimination they experienced (Davidson, 2013). When new immigrants and other ethnic groups hear politicians talking about taking their country back or watch rallies on television with people screaming about taking their country back, it can be very disconcerting to minority immigrants. This kind of language is contrary to Zangwill’s quote. Some people would probably believe that saying “take our country back” feeds into the same kind xenophobic attitudes that were displayed when the Irish and Eastern European people first came to the United States (DeWind, 2011). If these attitudes persist, the fusion of races will be delayed and minorities will stay segregated in communities were they feel