blog #6 rachel choi

Struggle of power over people is a recurring theme we see in historical and current events.  New forms of power generate every day but on the wide-scale basis, these emerging forms are seen as threatening.  The one who feels threatened develops a strategy in which they try to retain and exercise control.  In chapter 6, Anderson shares the idea of official nationalism as "an anticipatory strategy adopted by dominant groups which are threatened with marginalization or exclusion from an emerging nationally-imagined community" (Anderson, 101).

Anderson’s example was of King Wachirawut of Siam who employed strategies including education reform, militarism and rewriting of history (101).  Official nationalism is a response from power groups who feel threatened with exclusion from popular imagined communities.   It is a conscious self-protective policy in which the dominant group uses an anticipatory strategy to foresee emerging threats to it’s political interests and react accordingly.

“Amigo” shed perspective onto deeper aspects of colonization regarding diverse culture, language and the battle of authority.  I thought that language played the most obvious role in showing the differences between the group and the soldiers.  Though the friar was the only one who could translate, he was not the only form of communication used.  This goes to show that though language is needed for wide-spread purposes, communication has different outlets such as body language as shown between the interest of the girl and the soldier.  Language ultimately shapes an imagined community and it’s particular culture.  The American soldiers experienced a new culture in which they were supposed to be exercising control over.  They ended up participating in cultural events but sadly this ended abruptly as a higher authority took over control of the village.  I would have liked to see how the soldiers would have assimilated into the new culture without interruption which led me to the question: where does power truly develop from?  Isn’t power ultimately imagined just like communities?

The most apparent anticipatory strategies to me are found within the U.S regarding immigration. 

Legal citizenship is sought by many and is often related to immigration and political status.  For Asian Americans, citizenship is central to the politics of immigration, exclusion, inclusion, and community activism ( Fujiwara, 25).  Citizenship as legal status or membership into a particular community takes effort and time and depends on the desired society’s laws and regulations concerning the positioning of immigrants within social entitlements.  Coinciding with this “Age of migration” we see an ”age of nationalism” in which politics shape policies regarding immigration.  

We can see the influence of events on shaping the nation’s opinions and policies towards immigration as seen after September 11 attacks in the favors of decreasing legal immigration.  Currently, polls conducted show an increasing amount of Americans who believe that immigration is good for the country.  The Department of Homeland Security Act of 2002 and the U.S. Patriot Act are both examples of retaliations which resulted in tighter requirements and more restrictions for immigrants.   Historically, immigration has been based on family-based reunification, employment based admission and refugee protection.  The current annual number for number of legal immigrants allowed is set at  675,000 immigrants.  The topic continues to sit on the nation’s agenda next to gun-control with the ability to affect the lives of 11 million illegal immigrants already in the U.S.  Our nation is founded on the idea of a melting pot yet there are still opposing forces and anti-immigrant sentiments on the rise.  According to Anderson’s definition of official nationalism, the threat in this case consists of an emerging majority of people of color, which may ultimately lead to a redefining of American multi-culturalism (Fujiwara, 25).  Factors such as historical moment and current political conditions will ultimately affect the national interest behind immigration control as opposed to just the workings of interest groups.

Fujiwara, Lynn. Mothers without Citizenship: Asian Immigrant Families and the Consequences of 

Welfare Reform. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota, 2008. Print.