Foreigns, Natives, and Everyone Inbetween

Growing up in Naperville, a suburban area just south of Chicago, there was something I learned in elementary school that was never taught or even discussed. In our kindergarten class alone, there was a boy from Pakistan who always wore a turban (named Omar), a few Chinese children, a friend whose parents were from Italy (named Mario), and several other ethnicities. Apart from differing parental expectations and religious views, the differences didn't phase us; we seemed to not notice them. Except for Omar's fascinating turban, no one even pointed out the different natures that had been passed on from our parents, and some kids lightly struggled as they established their bilingualism - the language they spoke at school was one their parents only partly knew. Even in 4th grade, as I sat across from Muhammad (who had immigrated from India about a year ago) we all spoke English, and we all had at least once laughed hard enough to have milk come out of our nose at lunchtime. The majority of the population was still Caucasian, but skin color or accent didn't account for much, and everyone spoke comprehensible English.

It was rather unfortunate for me to learn that this was not a common attribute among the states. I moved to similarly suburban Kansas, and don't get me wrong, the people were nice, if not nicer, yet it was difficult to see when ethnic stereotypes held true. In any social group, about 90% of the members would be of a single ethnicity. Because of this grouping together, some people scarcely learned English. It was not a social faux pas to talk to someone of a different ethnicity, but it was difficult. It was clear that there were separate cultures, and that by putting together what someone wore with their skin color, you could estimate their grades, economic condition, how much English they know, and whether they would be a blue collar or white collar worker. That is probably true lots of places you go, but it was painful to see the social groups of consensual laziness, as well brilliant people that were simply ignored because of belonging to a different culture, such as Shaily, whose 85% grades in India were stellar for her classes, which she called as difficult as the AP tests, yet translated to B's when she moved to the United States. She proved more intelligent than the top of the class that was around her, but the Office of Grades and Records showed no mercy, and few even knew her name. Nonetheless, I would be surprised if there was anyone among us that could not associate with seeing these different social groups after a brief recollection of high school.

But the situation I first described is the one I hold ideal. We will only see more and more cultures, with some which we will naturally disagree, but as we encounter people with unusual accents and strange customs, we must remember the human nature that unites us to assist one another in our labors and make one another's burden lighter. As we compete domestically and internationally, in politics, education, and culture, it will be important for us to remember the essence of humanity, that our souls as well as others are infinitely valuable.