How valid are fears that immigration from countries other than Europe will change American culture? Is this pattern of immigration likely to be functional or dysfunctional for America? Provide some examples of the increase in Latino and Asian culture

Question

What will be an ideal response

Answer 1

American culture is highly likely to change in response to immigration from countries other than Europe, just as it has changed in the past when new sources of immigrants dominated immigration patterns. The new immigrants will meet opposition and provoke disorder, as have all immigrant groups before them, but they will also enrich American culture with new ideas, languages, cultural traditions, and a strong work ethic that is often more common among immigrants than among native-born Americans. Evidence of this change can be seen in the growth of the Latino population, the increase in Latino restaurants and stores, and the expansion of Latino festivals, the widespread publication of directions in Spanish and English, and the Spanish announcements at the local Wal-Mart. Asians have had a similar but not as diverse effect on American culture. Chinese restaurants were once confined to an urban "Chinatown," but today they dot every medium-sized town in America and are common across larger cities. Along with Chinese food, Thai, Japanese, and Korean restaurants can be found in many cities.