A Taste of America’s Melting Pot

Good morning, everyone. Thank you for inviting me here today – I am honored to be given the opportunity to speak to all of you about my home country. My name is Laura Kumataka, and I am the Coordinator of International Relations in Shiogama City. I am here through the JET programme (the Japan Exchange and Teach Programme) through which I was placed here in Miyagi-ken. I arrived here last August, and, to my utter shock, have already lived here for over half a year now. How time flies.

Just to give a little background about myself: I am, as I’m sure you are all aware, from the United States of America. I was born and raised in the state of California, although I have moved back and forth between northern and southern California. I was born in Los Angeles, the City of Angels, and after a year was moved to Northern California, to a small town called Mill Valley. Normally, however, I just tell people I’m from San Francisco, as very few people, even within the state of California, have heard of Mill Valley. I’m sure you may have heard of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge – Mill Valley is a town right beyond the otherside of the bridge, in the county of Marin. I spent my entire youth in Mill Valley, except for the two years I moved with my family to Tokyo, Japan because of my father’s work. For me Mill Valley is sometimes hard to describe; it is a unique town, made up of almost an entirely Caucasian population, a large number of people of which are former hippies – leftovers from the radical sixties generation in America. They were the ones living experimental lives in San Francisco, protesting against the Vietnam War, and who had long hair and wore bell bottoms (the pants that really flare out on the bottom). Though most of the former hippies have settled down with respectable jobs, Mill Valley still has a very liberal outlook when compared to other areas in California. It is the kind of town where organic foods thrive, where a large portion of the people are vegetarians, drive electric cars, and where Buddhism is quite popular, despite the low Asian population. In general, however, the people there are extremely kind, and I feel very fortunate to have been brought up there. That it isn’t to say Mill Valley didn’t have its drawbacks – it was such a small town that growing up there there was nothing to do, until people started receiving their drivers license at the age of 16, whereupon we all starte d heading to the big city of San Francisco. It was also difficult for my brother and I at times to be one of the few Asian Americans living there – I remember coming home crying to my mom after school one day, asking her why I didn’t also have blond hair and blue eyes. Nonetheless, though I was born in Los Angeles, I will always think of my home as Mill Valley and the Bay Area, which is the term used to describe San Francisco and its surrounding cities. My family and I moved to Japan right after I finished third grade in elementary school – my first bit of culture shock was my surprise at having to jump right into the middle of 3rd grade again, since school started in April unlike the schools in the United States, which start in September. School was completely different in Japan then it had been in the United States. What really stood out to me was how strongly the class was tied together. In the US, our interactions with our classmates were all on a voluntary basis, and many of us chose to just stick with our group of friends. I was surprised that everyone in Japan ate lunch together as a class. I was also surprised by the gakkyu- that there was actually a time alloted for talking about class related issues and to delegate chores. In the US, we would just head straight home after schools without cleaning it, so I was shocked when I found out the kids were responsible for cleaning up the schools everyday. Though I probably didn’t enjoy it back then, it makes more sense that a school would do so now, since it adds a sense of responsibility for the school to the children – perhaps if the US did that, instances of graffitti in the playground and such would decrease. I lived with my family in Japan for two years, and it was it was during that time when I learned the fundamentals of Japanese; till then I only had rudimentary exposure to the Japanese language through words that would filter down from generations of watered down Japanese culture. I am a 4th generation Japanese American, and, like many of my generation, have almost completely lost connection with our Japanese side except by our physical appearance. I never realized how distant I was from being truly Japanese until my experience in living in Japan – in the United States, people often refer to me as the “Japanese girl”, so coming to Japan after having been born and raised in the United State was also quite a shock. After two years, my family and I returned to Mill Valley, where I finished up middle school and high school. For college, like so many other teenagers, I felt the need to get away from both home and Mill Valley, so I chose to live in Los Angeles which was neither too close that my parents would expect me to come home every weekend, nor was it too far that I couldn’t still run home like a spoiled child to mommy when something went wrong. I attended the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA). Earlier on I mentioned that my home would always be the Bay Area; I mention this only because of the strong rivalry between Northern and Southern California (which are respectively referred to as Norcal and Socal). The differences are relatively small, but the atmosphere of the two regions are definitely different. Whereas “Norcal” is known as more laid-back and down-to-earth, “Socal” is known as a more exciting area as one of the US’s fashion capitals (along with New York) and the center of the entertainment world. I am, of course biased towards the area I was raised in, but I do love both areas. I’ll go a step further with my bias to state my unsupported belief that California is one of the top, if not best state, to live in in the United States. We enjoy not only the diversity between Northern and Southern California, but as California is both a coastal city and touches the Mexican border, it has a very diverse population. The weather in California may perhaps not be as consistently warm as Hawaii, but year along the weather in the major cities is usually just right – never getting too hot nor too cold. My brother is into surfing, and goes practically every day no matter what season of the year. On the otherhand, should we desire to expose ourselves to the cold winter climate, we can always do so by driving a couple hours to the east up the Rocky Mountain Range, where we can enjoy winter sports all the way up to June and July. And what other state can claim to have a celebrity such as Arnold Schwarzenneggar as Governor? (Although, to be honest I don’t really know if that’s something to be proud of…) But enough with my California propaganda. In 2004, I graduated from UCLA with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with an emphasis in International Relations. After graduation, I stayed in Los Angeles for a year, worked in an accounting firm, really hated the work, and worked my way into the JET programme, which leads me to my present occupation and enables me to talk to all of you today.

But enough about myself. I’d like to begin by talking a bit about the United States. I first would like to emphasize the size of the United States. It is a comparatively large country - the state of California is a bit larger than Japan itself, and the state of Alaska itself is 4 times the size of Japan. From Hawaii to New York are 4 different time zones, so jet lag occurs even when traveling within the US. When it is 12 pm in Hawaii, it is 4 in the afternoon in New York. I mention how large a country the United States is because I want emphasize that I am talking from a very limited perspective, and while I am taking this opportunity to tell you about the United States as I know it, my views and perspective may be considered different or even wrong by citizens living in other areas of the United States. Perhaps think of it as an Okinawan making generalizations about all of Japan, having only lived in Okinawa.

You probably all know the basics about the United States – that it has 50 states, relatively newly established country, and is a nation of meat lovers. Instead, I’d like to try to cover areas that stand out in my mind about the United States One is with regards to politics. Often, people associate a nation’s figurehead with the mindset of the country. I have often been asked, and many times mocked, by our country’s ideology (mostly by my British friends)– that we are a selfish nation, oblivious to other countries, and abuse our power too much. While that may be true to a certain extent, such actions don’t necessarily reflect the people of the nation. President Bush, our current president, is a good example. He is widely unpopular and heavily criticized by many areas of the United States for his actions – such as his decision to withdraw from the Kyoto environmental talks or by his decision to enter Iraq. It is true he is our elected figurehead, but, as was the case in the 2000 elections, it is possible for a President to win even without carrying the majority of the popular vote. Perhaps because I come from a very liberal state, and within that state a very liberal town, I find it frustrating when people assume that just because I am American, I am a full blown supporter of all of President Bush’s actions.

While on that note, I’m sure many of you have heard of the Democratic and Republican party. In the United States, the country is rather strongly divided by the two parties. From the outside, it might seem as though the government is indecisive and constantly beset by internal battles, which, I have to admit, is very true. However, though those battles may slow down the government from running efficiently, the two party politics system is in fact extremely important to most Americans. It is what ensures that laws and issues are properly debated before going into action, and it ensures that no single group is able to dominate the actions of the government. The Republican party is generally considered a bit more conservative, and is more closely aligned with business. One of the important arguments to the Republicans is that the states, not the central government, should be taking charge of the politics. The Democratic party is more liberal, and is often known as a minority party – not because it is in the minority, but because it represents the interests of the minorites more than the Republican party does. The Democratic party believes more in leaving power within the central government; that it is the government’s responsibility to look after the needs of the people. Of course, the two parties can’t represent the interests of the entire nation. There are often what are called “third parties” – the Independent Party, Libertarian Party, Green Party, and so forth. However, a third party has never played a large role in the elections, as the majority of the voters vote for either the Democrats or the Republicans, even if their interests are aligned more strongly with the smaller parties.

Something else that stand out in my mind about the United States is our fascination with the media. There is an amazing amount of attention on celebrities, whether they be actors and actresses, sports stars, or even just the very wealthy. Perhaps it stems from our relatively short history; unlike other countries that have royalty and old family ties, the United States lacks such figures. Though celebrities tend to be popular amongst the public worldwide, what suprises me about the United States is the extent to which their power reaches. Not only are celebrities popular because of their entertainment value, but also because they often serve as role models and leaders in the community. It is common for Hollywood stars to talk about their political views during their acceptance speeches, or for them to become figureheads to many charity organizations. I remember I went to a political rally prior to the 2000 election, and not only did politicians show up to support the candidate, but many celebrities showed up as well. Given that most celebrities’ occupation has nothing to do with the cause they are supporting, the amount of influence they have over the American public is amazing. California’s governor, Arnold Schwarzenneggar, is a good example. With no previous experience in politics, he was able to win the popular vote in the California elections and become governor of the state. Another example of a celebrity in politics includes Ronald Reagan, who was an actor in Hollywood before becoming the President of the United States.

One question that has been raised to me a number of times is about gun control. A couple of weeks ago I visited a first grade class in elementary school. I was shocked when the first question the kids asked me was about guns, as well as saddened that it was the first thing they identified with the United States. Within the United States, gun control is a very controversial issue. People urge for stricter gun control for an obvious reason: safety. Having guns that can be purchased puts an immediate threat on the lives of citizens. On the otherhand, there are various reasons people argue guns should be allowed. Some argue that the guns are only for recreational use – hunting and clay shooting have long been sports enjoyed in the United States, and are still quite popular. You may have heard in the news of Vice President Cheney shooting someone by accident the other day while out hunting. Whether it’s the safest sport is questionable, but it is certainly a sport that is enjoyed by many people. It’s also argued that guns are required for safety. The most frequent argument is called the “grandma” argument – what’s to protect an 80 year old grandma from getting mugged (robbed) while walking down the street besides a small handgun in her purse to use in case of emergencies? For those that live in the countryside, there are sometimes large animals (such as bears, cougars, and coyotes) that become a threat to people or their livestock. Without a gun, it’s much more difficult to chase such predators away. Another reason people believe guns should be legal is because it is a right specifically protected in our Bill of Rights, known as the “right to bear arms”. The Constitution and the Bill of Rights are held very dear in the United States, and its wording is taken very seriously. Some argue that the Bill of Rights is out-of-date – the right to carry guns was an amendment made shortly after America had fought a war against Great Britain, and the need to carry guns is no longer present. It will be interesting to see how the debate carries out in the future. But because at the present moment US does have the right to own guns doesn’t mean that every citizen in the United States possesses a gun. It is true that in some of the neighborhoods with high crime rates have metal detectors that are used in schools, but by no means does every school have one. Carrying a gun near a school or without a license is also a very serious offense, and the punishment against such actions can be quite severe. The types of guns one can purchase are also restricted, so it’s not as though an average citizen can just walk out of a store with a machine gun on any given day. In short, though the United States is a more dangerous country than Japan is, I’d like to believe it isn’t as threatening of a country as some believe.