I wanted to wish a happy and healthy Thanksgiving to our readers and clients. We hope you will take the time to relax this holiday and spend time with your families.
During this week of Thanksgiving — the most American of holidays — NPR is spending time discussing about what it means to become an American. The answers come from three noted authors — who’ve written about newcomers to the United States.
One of the authors Joseph O’Neill said:
“One of the great pluses of being an immigrant is you get to start again in terms of your identity,” he says. “You get to shed the narratives which cling to you.”
O’Neill says he found America to be a welcoming place, where people were less inclined to make judgments based on race or class — but also not particularly interested in learning about his background.
“As long as you show willingness, they are prepared to stick the label of ‘American’ on you,” he says.
That is the true spirit of Thanksgiving.