Growing Up Asian In America Thesis

America—the land of the free, and the home of the brave. Known for its empowering freedom and protection provided by all 27 amendments, America is the land where equal opportunity is sought. However, in the past America has not given equal opportunity to everyone Usually, it was people of color who were denied the rights and privileges that were offered to white citizens. With this discrimination came suppression, and the existence of people of color was often ignored and neglected. Due to this suppression, the typical Americans were thought to be a white family with a steady income, surrounded by a picket fence. In recent years, priorities have began changing, and diversity is accepted and even celebrated. For so long when asked what or who
Liberty and justice are two ideas that are often associated with America. These two values are repeated in poems and songs such as the Pledge of Allegiance and have become somewhat of a logo for the country. Sadly enough, there is still debate over who is deserving of these basic rights. An example of this inequivalence is shown in Growing Up Asian in America written by Kesaya E. Noda. The text states, “The police were patrolling the road, interested only in violators of curfew. There was no help for them in the face of thievery. I had not been able to imagine before what it must have felt like to be an American—to know absolutely that one is an American—and yet to have almost everyone else deny it. Not only deny it, but challenge that identity with machine guns and troops of white American soldiers.”(17) In this quote, Noda explains the injustice she faced due to her ethnicity. The police officers who surrounded her living area did not care whether or not they were stolen and were only concerned if curfew was broken. In the past, these situations were common and similar encounters have occurred today as well. President Franklin D. Roosevelt also made his own statements on liberty during the occasion for the 50th anniversary for the Statue of Liberty saying, “liberty and peace are living things. In each generation—if they are to be maintained— they must be guarded and vitalized a new.”(9) President Roosevelt agreed that liberty should be granted to all and that is a right important to be maintained. An American is someone who recognizes that liberty and justice are not privileges granted only to specific people, but rights that should be bestowed upon all in America regardless or race, sexuality, gender,