Examples Of Nativism In The 21st Century

Nativism in the 21st Century Since its creation the United States has been a welcoming home for the lost souls of the world, looking for a place where they could grow and prosper, free of prosecution and judgment. Everyone came for a fresh start, the freedom and liberty that was unattainable in other countries. The statue of liberty greeted everyone coming into Ellis Island with open arms as the inscription on her pedestal read “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, 
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!” Fast forward two hundred years and we find our selves living in a country that scoffs at the idea of immigrants, creates laws purposefully making it more difficult for them to live in the country, and has created a stigma against them that has bred a fear of new immigrants. Every
Addressing the concepts of nativism, nationalism, and racism all in relation to immigration in the United States helps people gain a better understanding of the issue at hand, and allows more people to form opinions based on the facts and history rather than opinions based on prejudices and long held beliefs. Leaving room in school curriculums to study social issues, especially current ones will help create a more open minded and informed generation as they go on to take political offices and leadership roles in society. Once the public has been adequately informed on the social issue of nativism and its roots and the fears that nativists posses, there can be effective legislation enacted which strives to eliminate the fears people have about immigration without practicing nativist ideals and promoting peaceful relations between the dominating racial group and the racial