America has always been known as a land of opportunity and promise for a better life from wherever and whatever you have been through. Hard work and good work ethics could get you anywhere in this country. These preconceived ideas made America a popular place for immigrants seeking religious freedom, better work, or a better life. Therefore, we call our country a melting pot of different origins, races, ethnic background, and cultural diversity. Richard Rodriguez is an American writing who has written many things that spark questions that affect things we have never wondered. In The Chinese in All of Us, a short passage explain Rodriguez’s cultural views and his idea of multiculturalism. Rodriguez also questions whether we are changing immigrants or they’re changing us, as Americans. Rodriguez explores and captures the ideas of cultural independence and acceptance of other beliefs through the three modes of persuasion, personal experiences, and countless examples of …show more content…
He begins with expressing his definition of multiculturalism and becoming his own culture in his personal life living in Los Angeles. Rodriguez is an American with Hispanic heritage, but claims to be Chinese since he lives in a suburb in Los Angeles, predominantly with Chinese heritage. “I think the adventure of living in a multi-racial, multi-ethnic America leaves one vulnerable to a variety of cultures, a variety of influences. Consider me, for example, Chinese. I am also Irish” (Rodriguez 730). Culture to Rodriguez was like a shirt, as oppose to a tattoo or something more permanent that has always been there. “I AM MY CULTURE. Culture is not something opposite us, it is rather something we breathe and sweat and live” (Rodriguez 729). He reinforces his ideas with self-expression of becoming your own culture, basically describing the limitless possibilities of cultural