Pathway Foundation American Creed Discussion 2018

On the 23rd of September, the new interns each gave a speech after watching the American Creed documentary by PBS. The video “American Creed” asked the key question: “What does it mean to be an American?”  (You can view the full documentary at http://www.pathwayus.org/programs/mayoral-internship/american-creed/) Interns were asked to address how the video connected to their experiences & background, how it inspired them, and how it related to the program.

Some highlights of intern’s speeches included the age gap between the first immigrants and the later generations. “It is difficult to understand the actual experience of what our parents or our grandparents experienced,” Caleb mentioned. But the “common struggle and obstacles of inherent discrimination and racism” of immigrants, regardless of race, is repeated. Another main topic discussed was: “In such a diverse country, what is our common goal?” Erik & Melissa pointed out that it was America’s “core values of freedom, unlimited opportunity, and individualism.” In other words, “it doesn’t matter where you are from, rather than where you are going.”

Several more points were discussed on, ranging from the impact of America’s history to the difficulties in assimilation for immigrants. But, it was emphasized that as the younger generation of American immigrants, we have an obligation to connect the diverse population of people together to support the nation’s ideals because it’s “not about you or me, it’s about us.”

(The discussion video can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbONa8GPp_Q)

Written by Liana Wu and edited by Melissa Lin