‘American’ culture

Suzanna Valdez, in explaining how Latina voices are reshaping Florida (“Latina voices are reshaping Florida — and the nation,” Nov. 3), also illustrates what it means to be American.

I find nothing in the law to suggest ‘American’ is anything other than a political identity. As such, new citizens ‘naturalize’ rather than ‘assimilate.’

American culture, then, properly embraces the many cultures that contribute to making us the dynamic country we, in fact, are. Otherwise, we limit others in there most basic freedoms outlined in the first amendment.

All voices are rightly heard in this democracy as its laws govern all of us equally and in no way imply assimilation to a culture that is not one’s own. American democracy is a relatively new and unique human construct. As such, the language to properly describe what it means to be ‘American’ is still somewhat limited. What we can, and should, do about this is listen to those around us in order to better understand our own American identity. I applaud Ms. Valdez for her decidedly American contribution to the discussion.

This story was originally published November 7, 2016 at 1:53 PM with the headline "‘American’ culture."