Trans-National America

"We are all foreign-born or the descendants of foreign-born, and if distinctions are to be made between us, they should rightly be on some other ground than indigenousness. The early colonists came over with motives no less colonial than the later. They did not come to be assimilated in an American melting pot. They did not come to adopt the culture of the American Indian. They had not the smallest intention of 'giving themselves without reservation' to the new country. They came to get freedom to live as they wanted to. They came to escape from the stifling air and chaos of the old world; they came to make their fortune in a new land."

What I believe Randolph Bourne meant by this passage is that we are all the same. We are either born in a foreign country or descendants of a generation from a foreign country. The immigrants from back then came to this country with the same mind set as the immigrants from now. They came to this country to live the American dream and get a better life for their families. As Bourne states, they did not come to adopt the culture of the American Indian, but to live free and make a better life for themselves. 

I chose this passage because I find it to be very interesting and I also agree with Randolph Bourne. I feel since this is a free country (or so I thought), people should be able to keep their culture and beliefs while adjusting to America. They come here for a better life and to help support their families. They should not be force to be Americanize because they want to live here. They should show respect for this country but they should not be force to forget everything they know from their own country.