A Quilt Made of Many Nations

In “A Quilt of a Country: Out of Many, One?” Anna Quindlen explained that America is built of many pieces and that it is held together by a “notion.” She explains this notion as “all men are created equal” however as a nation we tend to categorize people based on their nationality, culture and financial status. In the title, Anna expresses that the country is made of many pieces, such as a quilt, and that out of many different pieces of that quilt we choose one to be the best and, at the other extreme, one to be the worst or hidden . She explains that at different time periods the cultures or nationalities are looked upon differently. At one time it was the Irish and the Italians and during another period it is the Mexicans and Cambodians. Another main-point that Anna expresses is that there is a time where America as a nation unites and we all become as a whole and this all happens when there is war or drastic disasters or a perfect example the tragedy of 9/11.
Quindlen does a perfect example at using a quilt as a metaphor, more or less, to describe our nation. We look at all the different pieces and look at the prettiest and the brightest however when the quilt is need all together the most is when all the pieces unite to make one big quilt. This is when all the colors and shapes mesh together and serve as a whole. I totally agree with Anna when she states that “tolerance” is a “vanilla-pudding word.” We use tolerance to state that we are allowing different cultures to express themselves but we forget that America is the land of the free. Finally I find it amusing how Anna brings in a perfect example of a disaster, such as a terrorist attack, and shows how all the pictures of the people who died where placed together; like a quilt. No one was better than anyone they were all one spirit and we were all one nation working together.