>My explanation, informed by the views of Thomas and Znaniecki on immigration
>(_The Polish peasant in Europe and America_) and Max Weber (The Protestant
>Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism_) on modernity, is that immigrants who
>come from "collectivistic societies," such as Eastern Europe and Latin
>America, have a harder time adopting to "individualistic societies" such as
>the US - and their coping strategy often relies on cultivating collectivism
>and nationalist identity politics.
I could swear that Polish-Americans are pretty completely assimilated, though maybe I've just run into the wrong bunch. Or maybe I'm thinking of the ones who came here in the early 20th century - their kids & grandkids are pretty well Americanized. More recent arrivals may not be, but that's not surprising.
Doug