“Becoming American is a constant cultural collision” by Trang Tuong Nhu is an article that evaluates the position of Mai Nguyen in the middle of a cultural conflict between two distinctly different societies. On one side it was her native culture of Vietnam and on the other hand, there was the American value system where she was residing. This is a perennial problem of any migrant and there is no objection to this state of mind of the migrant.
Due to differences in cultures and lack of knowledge, it becomes obvious that the people of the native nation would not understand the values of the adopted nation. This is why the parents of Mai disowned her on a day that could have been the most auspicious day of her life, her day of graduation. The mental framework of any person is difficult to change and given the problem generation gap driven by a rigid value system, this becomes even more difficult.
However, the two sets of lifestyles proposed for Mai Nguyen in the article is not very convincing. It is not necessary for Mai Nguyen to adapt to the situation but America being a ‘melting pot’ country should contribute to this assimilation too. Thus, it is awareness and knowledge about different cultures that are important for every citizen living in the US. It starts with the parents and the relatives and should cover the entire nation. The assimilation process is the true essence of America and the entire society should contribute to this process to make the country great as the forefathers of the nation have done. Thus, even though the problem is a problem of an individual the solution should be developed by the entire population.