Does America Still Exist: David Brook

In the essay titled “People Like Us” by David Brooks and “Does America Still Exist” by Richard Rodriguez, they both concern the concept of cultural assimilation and cultural diffusion. Both David Brooks and Richard Rodriguez feel that America should be a land of opportunities where people can have a better lifestyle, job ethics and living the American dream. The main idea of “People Like Us” is that David Brooks believes that the world should be diverse and neighborhoods should consist of all ethnicities.

The main idea of “Does America Still Exist” is that Richard Rodriguez experience his difficulty of the adaptation of the Hispanic community into the American world, Which can lead to the stop of racial hatred aimed at people with dark skin. Both David Brooks and Richard Rodriguez attempt and managed to reveal the true essence of the racial issues of the society as both of them belong to racial minorities under the influence of experience not only discrimination but a desperate struggle to be equal and have the same life opportunities.

According to the article titled “ Does America Still Exist” authored by Richard Rodriguez and using many clarification, the statement can be made that Richard Rodriguez would agree that America is a melting pot. The reason for the statement is because how Richard Rodriguez experienced cultural assimilation. He describe how it was hard back in the times to be dark and what was life converted into under the condition of having dark skin.

Richard Rodriguez have a lot of similarities in the essay “People Like Us” Rodriguez tells about the fact that having a light skin makes life easier for its carrier, Which make the point that dark skin makes people feel shame, gives them labels and does not make their life easier. Due to America being a congealing pot, immigrant of all race faces cultural assimilation. A melting pot can be described as a place where a variety of races, cultures, or individuals assimilate into a cohesive whole. America are often despised as a melting because because the people despite their differences manage to coexist and live together as one nation.

Anywhere diverse people are assimilated could be called a melting pot. In a melting pot, differences become less important than unity. David Brooks Writes “we all pay lip service to the melting pot, but we really prefer the congealing pot”. This describe how in order to live well, people will want to be with people like themselves. This is unacceptable because in real life it more like a pot which Americans connect with people with the same interest. Yet Brooks feels it is also important for people to expand their minds. He believes that everyone should exit the familiar and try something new.

It is best for everyone to experience different lifestyles and cultures. David Brooks have a lot of similarities in the essay “Does America Still Exist” David Brook proclaims that America boasts for being an extremely diverse society; but he shows many examples of how America is still segregated by choice, by habits and other measurable categories. Major problem concerning this issue is that many people differ in the real meaning of the concept and how they view their personal involvement. Brook argues that “we do not really care about diversity all that much in America, even though we talk about it a great deal”.

However, they are the general, erroneous interpretations of diversity that are really creating this wrong image of indifference. Brook’s ideas about social groups working together and social groups coexisting together, the importance of diversity and the influence of diversity in social changes. Mr. Brooks proclaims that America boasts for being an extremely diverse society; but he shows many examples of how America is still segregated by choice, by habits and other measurable categories. Mr. Brooks proclaims that people of the same race and income level tend to flock together and live in the same communities.

Some examples of this is Black’s tend to live in the same neighborhoods by class, being low income, middle class, upper middle. He also says people move to areas that are known for certain characteristics such as mountain bikers moving to a certain city because that city is known be to have a large mountain biker population. Mr. Brooks says trends and tendencies like this makes America less diversified and this makes most places look the same as other neighborhoods in other area with the same type of people. People look for cultural affinity and move there.