2012

This year’s election will be one of the most interesting elections in history.  This election won’t only make history within the American citizens but also with the Latino immigrants.  According to the New Yorker, they have said that last years election in 2008, Obama win because of the Latino community.  However, this year both candidates Obama and Romney are striving for the Latino community votes.  This is because immigration is a big subject in America, even though the immigrants cannot vote they still have family members who are citizens and can vote for the president that is willing to give documents to the immigrants who live here in the United States.  For example, I have very close family members that have been here since a very young age; they even graduated from the U.S.A middle school and high school system.  Even though, they have been receiving their education here it’s very hard to receive higher education without documents.  Even though, I’m a citizen and I do have the privilege to get a higher education.  I still think of my family members that are not documented and this really affects on whom I will vote for. 

            Obama since he become president has been working on enforcing a bill that will give certain immigrate students the right to live, work, and attend university in the states.   On the other hand Romney, on the start of his campaign was not so willing to work with the immigrants, however, after doing a few interviews he does not really mention whether or not he is willing to work with them.  According to an article on CNN, Romney was questions about his comment he made; he stated that he was willing to give residency to immigrants who are in the military.   Then Romney was asked what would happen to the immigrants who are not in the military. He said he will not deport millions of immigrants but he also never answered whether they would receive documents.

            This election is making me realize how one without a certain paper or title can make a deference, if one analyzes the biggest issues that these presidents are trying to fix are the economy and immigration.   It’s breath-taking noticing that immigrants have such a big affect on this election.  They do not have the right to vote but yet still this election is being really affected by them as if they did have a vote.   Who would have ever thought back in history that immigrants would have made such a big difference in a election for the United States even more the Latino immigrants.  We all just have to wait and see how the Latino community will do with this years vote.  

CH 3

            This is way I enjoy learning about history because I always catch myself thinking about how life would have been if this land were still the Natives. What would the world be like? I’ve never given much thought to the question; whether African slaves were seen has immigrants to the new world.  This questions can have countless answers however, I believe that yes they were immigrants but so where the humans that kidnapped them.  Also another point, does it make them immigrants even though they were force to come to the New world.  I strongly believe that the only humans who are not immigrants to some parts of the United States are Native people.  This was once their land sadly to say they just couldn’t over come the Europeans.  The Native people are the only ones who have the right to say who’s an immigrant because this was their motherland not ours.

            The other statement that really grabbed my attention which was on page 55, where it says that 10 percent of Americans people their ancestors are the African immigrants who were brought by force.  Today it seems like half of this world does not know this fact. One always thinks of their ethnicity being more superior then other ethnicities.  A lot of us were born here and many of our great grandparents where also born here which means that we are much more connected to each other then we think we are, this world is not as big as we think it is. Even though we might be very much connected there are still many problems with people thinking that they are much better because their ancestors took over so many lands and what not. 

            What would have been great was if these African who were slaves and traded off would had written latters about their experience. It’s one thing reading it from the book and receiving all these interesting facts, but when you read it from the person who is experiencing then it is much more meaningful. However, it makes much sense like how were we talking a in class and Andrews was saying that they did not teach them how to read or write because they did not wont their history to exist. Over all this book is outrageously interesting and it makes one want to keep on reading.  

Our connected world

I’ve always had interest in learning about the history of Polynesian.  For many reasons one being, because when growing up all through grade school my good friend was a Polynesian.  I remember when we were taking history in middle school, our class was learning about Aztec whom are indigenous from Mexico.  I was excited to learn about my ancestors.  When I asked my friend about her indigenous people from her homeland, which is Tonga.  She answer that they really did not have a history.  I’m glad to be learning about events that happen but have not been paid much attention.    

            From the reading, the author speaks about how these humans/tribes traveled to countless countries and island, it made me really questions how close we are as humans.  I feel like many of us do not pay attention to our history or in some cases we are not informed with the history that will open our eyes. By opening our eyes I mean making us realize that we might not but a full blood Mexican or Dominican, we might have a little of Native American or some type of other ethnicity.  On page 25 of the reading it shows us how much these humans traveled.  I enjoyed seeing how connected we are because who would have thought that Alaskan’s and Ecuadorians would have a same type of blood from a tribe who once lived years ago.  These two places are millions miles way but it really shows us how small this world is.

            This reading brought me back to my own experience that I had, for many years ever since I was a young child many people have confused me for a Filipino.  Some of my cousins have experience the same thing, however, the only history we knew about our grandparents was that they we were Mexicans, my cousin doing research found that one of our grandpa’s father was half Pilipino. Which I could not when she told me but it’s amazing finding out information like this.  Just like the readings history states that Europeans were in the Philippines and also Mexico so that might had been how it happen.          

The Word American

   I'm enrolled in this class for the reason that I knew it was going to be very interesting.  Learning about different ethnicity's and how they make up America is breath taking. Growing up, I have always had many questions about different ethnicities and their history.  However, being in the American education system since elementary through high school one does not get the opportunity to study every ethnicity.  I have always wondered why not, at times I feel like it's in our American culture to focus on our history then any other ethnicity.  Making it seem as if we were the number one country. Even though it is a great thing to teach the new generations to be a proud human of where one comes from at the same time we still need more information about other countries, our education system teaches us to forget about the world and about the humans who once called the land that we live on today their native land.

The first day of class Andrews ask the class what does American mean or something in the words of those lines to the class.  At times even though I'm a first generation citizen in my family, I still struggle with the answer of what does it feel to be an American.  I've never given much thought to this question until one day last summer, my friend Chris who happens to be a white American, ask me what my ethnicity was and I answered Mexican.  He really analyzed my answer and stood there thinking, saying so your an immigrant.  I'm not an immigrant I do have my citizenship however; growing up my parents never taught me to say I'm a Mexican American.  That may be because my parents have never felt like this was their homeland even though they are allowed to be here they still feel as if they do not belong here.  Growing up I have felt my parents struggle of not belong here so that may be why I do not say I’m Mexican American.  It might even be my parent’s pride of being proud of where they come from.  I at times, I feel like I’m not an American, because of what we people have made the description of an American, I feel like I do not fall into this description of an American.  I’m not a white, blue eye, or athletic American child.  Even though America is my native land because I was born here, I struggle to identify as an American. I hope this class encourages to change my mind site of what an American appears to look like.