Takaki

Traditional history often reminds people of certain aspects of historical battles and people who made a large impact on the world today and more often than not they are typically white. Many times we forget about the people who are not what one would typically stereotype “American”. This important person history tends to focus on is a white male that looks American. History tends to not award adequate respect and honor to those who do not fit the typical American label.

This book turns the opposite cheek and discusses the gray section of what we would consider ”black and white” history. This topic is not widely taught in general history classes, but this books helps to pull together all of the cultures and relate them as to how they have impacted and aided society to achieve the perspective the world today.

In general everyone benefits from all and every type of history, whether the extreme range from a simple signature on a declaration to a full-blown battle taking multiple lives. Cultures benefit more from knowing a history that pertains to them or their situation. Where they can learn certain event of conflict and diversity and understand the different roles in their backgrounds and why they are present.

There is many times where people of different ethnic backgrounds have had to compromise with the issue of whether or not they are treated equally and given the same equal rights. For example during the World War II Japanese-American soldiers were made to fight in the front line because they had a Japanese descent. A Japanese-American soldier explained his sacrifice, “My friends and my family-they mean everything to me. They are the most important reason why I am giving up my education and my happiness to go fight a war that we never asked for. But our Country is involved in it. Not only that. By virtue of the Japanese attack on our nation, we as American citizens of Japanese ancestry not going to take it sitting down!… my family and friends- they are the ones who will be proud. In fact, it is better that we are sent to the front and that a few of us do not return, for the testimony will be stronger in favor of the folks back home”(Takaki, 384-385). Therefore the Japanese American people would earn the respect of many Americans for they bravery and heroism. This solider was being forced to fight in the front line and sacrifice himself because he didn’t appear to have the American look/stereotype. Although, he was born in America and so were his parents, he was still being treated as a non-American secondary to his looks. He took this in stride hoping and believing that the future outcome and response to this situation would be that his family and friends of like descent would one day not have to give up there education and happiness to earn the legitimate respect that they deserved.

The person that benefits the most is the rich upper class white male. In the past white race tries to remold all of the other ethnicities to fit there model. For example when we claimed the land, Indians already inhabited it. Instead of compromising the white people kept pushing their ways and beliefs, which they called the frontier. Eventually the whites ran out of land to push the Indians any father west, which signified the end of the frontier. This situation forced the Indians to move once more and live on reservations.