Monday, April 16, 2007

I Believe Paper

American Traditions

America is the most ethnically diverse country in the world. When it was discovered, people from all over the world flocked here to try and start a new life. In the end, we ended up hosting people from Britain, France, Africa, Ireland, Mexico, Japan, and many others. It turned us into one of the most culturally diverse places as well. However, just because America doesn't have one national culture, that doesn't mean we don't have traditions. We actually have many traditions that are still honored to this day. Recently, I heard a woman from Pakistan speak about her culture and the traditions that she has. She also mentioned that many people from her country and others believe that America is a very uncultured place and holds no real traditions. To me, that didn't make much sense. A country that is founded by multiple cultures ends up keeping the traditions that they bring with them.
A wedding in a country like Pakistan is a very sacred commitment. It is something that is held in very high esteem, and that shows in the way that they celebrate the marriage. The minimum ceremony time lasts for three days all the way up to two weeks, and it is the most costly aspect of ones life. This is one of their greatest traditions and practically everybody in the country celebrates a wedding in the same manner. However, weddings in America are also held in a very high manner. Even though everybody celebrates them a little differently, they still all mean the same thing. It is a gathering of family and friends to celebrate the love that two people share. Weddings have been going on in the United States for centuries, and won't stop in the near future. There are thousands of weddings conducted every year and getting married is something that almost everyone expects to do in their lifetime. It has even become a social standard; not ever having been married almost screams that something is wrong with you. I believe that getting married in America is just as important and as great of a tradition as in any other country around the world.
Another tradition in America comes around the date November 24, Thanksgiving dinner. The tradition of Thanksgiving started when the Pilgrims first arrived in America, almost four centuries ago. Ever since then it has been something that American families celebrate every year, no matter what ethnicity. Even though it was only Pilgrims and American Indians that were there on Thanksgiving, everybody still celebrates the holiday. It is an American holiday that as a citizen, you should celebrate. Just like any other national holiday it tells a small part of your country's history. Even though people believe in different Gods, or are a part of different cultures, they are still all American citizens and honor the country's past.
Just like most other things in life, I think that many traditions depend a great deal on money. I know that most traditions aren't suppose to be about money and that they are about honoring the past of your culture, but most big traditions require money to be spent. It all depends how much you want to spend and the way that you prioritize what is important. For example, weddings in Pakistan are the most important celebration, meaning that the most money will be spent on them. The citizens choose to make weddings the most lucrative tradition because they feel that your family is the most important thing in life. In America, family isn't as important and you probably wouldn't blow your savings on a wedding. Other things such as your mortgage, food, cars, or clothes might be high on your list as well. This fact also reveals that America is a little bit more materialistic than Pakistan. However, the amount spent on a tradition does not decrease its value. Weddings are still regarded as very important in America even though they aren't as grand or elaborate.
Other than the two that I have mentioned, the American people celebrate many other traditions, no matter what culture they are from. Something as simple as eating a Thanksgiving dinner, or watching the fireworks on the fourth of July are traditions. Voting in elections every four years or watching a football game every Sunday count as traditions. A tradition doesn't need to be a grand celebration; it doesn't even need to cost thousands of dollars. A country doesn't need to contain only one religion or culture to have traditions, just people that have faith in the place that they live. I believe that traditions never stop growing and that America is still developing new ones, even with all its diversity.

1 comment:

EmilyG said...

American Traditions

America is the most ethnically diverse country in the world. When it was discovered, people from all over the world flocked here to try and start a new life. In the end, we ended up hosting people from Britain, France, Africa, Ireland, Mexico, Japan, and many other countries. It turned us into one of the most culturally diverse places as well. However, just because America doesn't have one national culture, that doesn't mean we don't have traditions. We actually have many traditions that are still honored to this day. Recently, I heard a woman from Pakistan speak about her culture and the traditions that she has. She also mentioned that many people from her country and others believe that America is a very uncultured place and holds no real traditions. To me, that didn't make much sense. A country that is founded by multiple cultures ends up keeping the traditions that they bring with them. *
A wedding in a country like Pakistan is a very sacred commitment. It is something that is held in very high esteem, and that shows in the way that they celebrate the marriage. The minimum ceremony time lasts for three days all the way up to two weeks, and it is the most costly aspect of ones life. This is one of their greatest traditions and practically everybody in the country celebrates a wedding in the same manner. However, weddings in America are also held in a very high manner. Even though everybody celebrates them a little differently, they still all mean the same thing. It is a gathering of family and friends to celebrate the love that two people share. Weddings have been going on in the United States for centuries, and won't stop in the near future. There are thousands of weddings conducted every year and getting married is something that almost everyone expects to do in their lifetime. It has even become a social standard; not ever having been married almost screams that something is wrong with you. I believe that getting married in America is just as important and as great of a tradition as in any other country around the world.*
Another tradition in America takes place on November 24, Thanksgiving dinner. The tradition of Thanksgiving started when the Pilgrims first arrived in America, almost four centuries ago. Ever since then it has been something that American families celebrate every year, no matter what ethnicity. Even though it was only Pilgrims and American Indians that were there on Thanksgiving, everybody still celebrates the holiday. It is an American holiday that as a citizen, you should celebrate. Just like any other national holiday it tells a small part of your country's history. Even though people believe in different Gods, or are a part of different cultures, they are still all American citizens and honor the country's past.
Just like most other things in life, I think that many traditions depend a great deal on money. I know that most traditions aren't suppose to be about money and that they are about honoring the past of your culture, but most big traditions require money to be spent. It all depends how much you want to spend and the way that you prioritize what is important. For example, weddings in Pakistan are the most important celebration, meaning that a lot of money will be spent on them. The citizens choose to make weddings the most lucrative tradition because they feel that your family is the most important thing in life. In America, family isn't as important and you probably wouldn't blow your savings on a wedding Other things such as your mortgage, food, cars, or clothes might be high on your list as well. This fact also reveals that America is a little bit more materialistic than Pakistan. However, the amount spent on a tradition does not decrease its value (?)***. Weddings are still regarded as very important in America even though they aren't as grand or elaborate.
Other than the two that I have mentioned, the American people celebrate many other traditions, no matter what culture they are from. Something as simple as eating a Thanksgiving dinner, or watching the fireworks on the fourth of July are traditions. Voting in elections every four years or watching a football game every Sunday count as traditions.** A tradition doesn't need to be a grand celebration; it doesn't even need to cost thousands of dollars. A country doesn't need to contain only one religion or culture to have traditions, just people that have faith in the place that they live. I believe that traditions never stop growing and that America is still developing new ones, even with all its diversity.
* Strong Thesis :) If this is your thesis, though, I think you should mention different traditions from different parts of the world that are found in America.
* Good Job reiterating your thesis!
** I liked these examples a lot because they are proof that Americans do have tradition!
*** But don't some Americans consider their wedding day to be the most important day of their life and spend A LOT of $?

Just because our traditions are more modern and vary distinctly from traditions found in ancient cultures does not make them any less important. The morals/values emphasized by our traditions show insight to what the American people consider necessary to have in a society. So perhaps you could write about what our different traditions show about the American people.

Score - 90


(I don't know if the colors will show up, but hopefully they will in the email attatchment And I bolded the grammer corrections)