Over time, I have found that I can adjust. And I am assimilated so well that I have the same tendency as most Americans to be overly impressed by an English accent, but unimpressed by a Chinese accent. Not all accents are equal, it turns out. Whether we insist on English, we should be tolerant of accents. Attacking accents hardly improves civility and community.
People can erase their accents only with great difficulty.
That doesn t stop them from trying, of course. Adult accent improvement classes, especially for professionals, have lengthy waiting lists that symbolize the desire to be accepted as an American. Perhaps if people who heard foreigners all around them listened more carefully, they d learn that they were surrounded by citizens who spoke English after all. We d all discover that if we first respect one another, then we will be able to communicate with one another.