Complexity behind Asian Americans

This weekend's WSJ featured a lengthy article on Asian-Americans (AAs) and touted their success as a model immigrant group like the Jews in the 19th and 20th centuries. (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204076204578076613986930932.html). It relies much on the Pew Research Report released this summer touting AAs' achievement in American society, and their values of hard work and emphasis on family. I think the article, like the Pew study, fails to recognize the complex and multi-faceted status of AAs and portrays them as a model minority, even though the article does note several contradictions facing AAs today.

First, many AAs do not fall under this model minority myth. Many of them, for reasons mostly beyond their control, are part of the shrinking middle class battered by the housing crisis and recession or are barely staying afloat. I know of many problems in the AA community that the mainstream media mostly ignores - such as crime and dropout rates among AA youth, continued hostility and discrimination against successful AAs and businesses, and the lack of services for many AA senior citizens. Granted, AAs as a whole are well-off compared to other racial groups, but most AAs still face the same problems as other groups - insecurity about their finances and the economy, unsure about the direction of this country and the welfare of their children. The Pew study and this article should not have perpetuated this model myth and should have acknowledged the complex reality of the AAs in America today.

What I think the article does point out well are two larger problems facing AAs: first, the lack of engagement in the issues and controversies of today, and the contradictions in many AAs between adherence to traditional values and adopting America's values. AAs are well-known for skirting unpopular and controversial issues, mostly for their own good, but I feel that should not be an excuse for passiveness. I think AAs, especially the young, should be more politically active - such as through voting - and engaged with the greater social and economic developments in America today. Sitting on the sidelines has contributed to the marginalization of AAs and their interests in the greater political discourse. Finally, I think many AAs face, either day to day or every once in a while, an identity crisis. Should they follow the traditional values of their forefathers or should they buck the trend and be more American? Can AAs be traditional - in their values of hard work, emphasis on education and family, and respect for others - but still be liberal and adapt to different and changing times? Many, including I, believe the two sides are opposite and culturally incompatible, but who knows - like the Jews of yesteryear, perhaps AAs and their values will be assimilated enough into American culture one day and become part of the mainstream.