All jokes aside, I think that many immigrants today have the same aspirations of those depicted in the skit. I think that for some Americans, it has been so long since their family immigrated that they don’t think about how different their lives would be if their ancestors had not been afforded the same opportunity.

Also, I thought that the blogger’s point of view tied in to my post on expectations a few weeks ago.

What do you think?

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Stephen Talty is an author who recently wrote about his reaction to his two year-old noticing race for the first time. His perspective is interesting because he is a second generation Irish immigrant who is married to a first generation Haitian immigrant. Here’s an excerpt from his article:

I want Asher to care about his family’s story. How my father had to leave high school in Ireland, before he graduated, to go to work for his family. How, though he was as smart as any of his kids, he came to America and put in 30 years as a construction worker (which is not a job you want to have in the wintertime in Buffalo) because that’s what men without high school degrees did. How Marie’s father, a civil engineer in Haiti, had to drive a taxi in New York City because his credentials weren’t accepted here. How my mother worked as a nurse’s aide, and 400 miles away, Asher’s Haitian grandmother spent her days as a nurse. How they all saved money to send every one of their kids to college, but how my parents couldn’t justify spending money on themselves.

What I find intriguing is that the experiences of the two different cultures are so alike. So, while on the surface the two cultures are worlds apart (Mr. Talty talks more about those challenges in the article), I think there are many more similarities that promote shared values.

Do you agree?

 
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I have often wondered if the expectations that my parents had of me, as well as those placed on myself had more to do with my family specifically, my generation or the age old dreams of immigrants to the USA. For instance, it was almost a requirement that my sister and I get a college degree and that we maintained very good grades. Of course, along with good academic performance comes the notion that you can “be whatever you want to be” when you grow up. Hence, that’s exactly what I have thought all along.

About a month ago, I was watching the HBO special titled The Black List which chronicles the experiences of successful black people in America. One of the interviewees (I think it was Richard Parsons, former Time Warner CEO) stated that someone once asked him something to the tune of ’At which point did you realize that you could become the head of one of the world’s largest media companies?’ His answer was ‘I never realized I couldn’t.’ 

This has been my sentiment about what I am capable of achieving for as long as I can remember. I was lucky enough to have parents that never focused on any obstacles that were beyond my control (i.e. race, social class, etc.). Accordingly, this will also be the sentiment/expectation that gets passed down to my children.

Did you grow up with similar expectations of life? If so, do you attribute it to the drive that many immigrant families come here with or to the political changes that this country has gone through over the past 40-50 years? If not, are you changing your expectations for your children or do you think that their success can be limited by prejudice, etc.?

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