Ideas change; assimilation is constant

This article tells us we should all relax, that assimilation is taking place, perhaps not quite like it did last century, but it is happening and will continue. - - Donna Poisl

By PATRICK AZADIAN

The topic of assimilation has been in the air. The issue is one of those than can generate unnecessary friction among individuals and communities.

The concept of assimilation is an evolving one. And the way society has looked at it has changed since the inception of America. There was a time that there was immediate pressure on immigrants and even Native Americans to conform to the standards of mainstream America. Even if the newcomers were to change their ways and conform to the traditions of the New World, this was not always a sufficient condition to be accepted in the mainstream. The process of becoming an American did not happen overnight. Many ethnic communities, such as the Italians of New York, the Irish of New England, as well as the Armenians of Fresno went through a long, sometimes arduous process before they became the inseparable part of the larger American society.
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