Reflective Essay: Diversity In America

When America was founded, it was established on freedom and equality for all people. At first it was just religious freedom, but eventually freedom of speech, press, petition, and more. In time, America began to be known as a “melting pot” of cultures as more and more people came because they wanted this freedom; the more people who came though, the more problems America had. There were too many cultural discrepancies between people, and ultimately America, the country based on freedom and equality, faced challenges concerning diversity.

America is greatly influenced and enhanced by the many versatile cultures which inhabit it. Cultural diversity has added to our economy in such a way that it brings innovated ideas and contact structures throughout the world. International cuisines have come to America through subcultures, have expanded the food industry, and have allowed English Americans to try new foods and flavors. Immigrants have brought with them religious values that greatly differ and vary from those at which were natural in the main stream American culture. The educational development through foreign nationals has led America, as a nation, to excel and be deemed one of the most intelligent nations in the world! Consequently, the subcultures have kept our

The idea that "diversity" is one of the country's great strengths is now so firmly rooted that virtually anyone can evoke it, praise it, and wallow in it without fear of contradiction. It has become one of the great unassailably American ideas, like democracy, patriotism, the family, or Martin Luther King.

You made some very valid point in your discussion. This country was founded on social and economic diversity in which it does tend to categorize everyone into a certain group to feel a sense of validation of whom they believe they are or should be. European Americans did this categorization as a means to ensure that society will embrace them as the superior race and blacks and Indians as the inferior race. This segregation of humanity was denoted as “high” and “lower” class groups that became interconnected within the social and racial institution. Additionally, these distinctions such as skin color differences in America today are thought to explain perceived differences in intellectual, physical and artistic temperaments and to justify the

The United States for years has been a country full of opportunities. As of the freedoms, the United States is a country full of many different types of people with their own cultures and different views of life. A reason for this is that, the United States is promoted as an interwoven country. The United States is the land of opportunities, but it can also be abundant in diversity and exclude others because of their culture or just the fact that people are not the same skin color. The color of one’s skin can also predict what opportunities people have in life. The United States may have a pluralistic society, but it can also be the greatest diverse country. Everyone in the United States no matter which race wants to achieve the American Dream

A corrupt creation full of covetous consumers. An overly patriotic parade home to racist radicals. An overflow of obesity. Even an influential ideology inferior to other nations. These phrases are frequently vocalized when defining America not exclusively by residents of other countries, but even more so by citizens of the United States. These phrases form a negative connotation associated with the American experience, yet for myself personally, this misconception could not be further from the truth. Through two optimistic eyes, I see an outlet for individualism, for citizens to follow and abide by personal beliefs. This glance captures the image of Americans expressing ideals. And further, Individuals who do not feel fear of being outcast for having diverse beliefs, but instead feel prompted, even encouraged to defend personal opinions. Remarkably, these images I see are not fictitious, but rather an opportunity for

America is a strong country, but no one ever said it was perfect, and it’s not. I don’t always agree with everything and love all of our choices. I do believe, though that I am very lucky to live here. We get a say to where we want to go, what we want to be, and how we want to live. There are some things that we should do better at, but doesn’t every country?

It is important to understand our diverse Americans because our country is full of unique people from across the world. Our society is built with people that celebrate their religion In their own way and our country lets us embrace our religion. Our society is an environment where people can exercise their religion without persecution of religion, unlike in other parts of the world where individuals aren't free to practice their religion. In addition, there will always be that Americans will respect you no matter what your background is, unfortunately there's also a small portion of Americans out there that will disagree with you and the choices you will make. As of right now there aren't many places to go without witnessing diversity at

Is America diverse? America might be diverse as a whole but how about in our local communities? There are many ways of defining diversity: ethnicity, culture, religion, language, etc. Diversity is more apparent in our communities now compared to the past, but it doesn’t mean we are fully diverse as individuals. In local communities, people often chose to be close to people with the same ethnicity, religion, background, and culture. For example, on the Eastside of St. Paul resides the majority of the Hmong population in the Twin Cities. They choose to live close to each other because of the same ethnicity, background, and culture. This creates segregation and limits diversity from happening in the local communities. Most people tend to choose

“We may have different religions, different languages, different colored skin, but we are all human race” - Kofi Annan. This quote said by Kofi Annan explains perfectly how not all people have to be of the same background or even the same culture but everyone is still a human being so you can not treat them as any less. America is a melting pot because of all the different cultures in the US today. Also, the US is working on rights for all by making it more convenient for people who do not speak English to have the same rights. While some people believe diversity separates a country, it can be argued that diversity creates unity because today the US is a melting pot, and they are working on rights for all.

As I slowly fell asleep with tears in my eyes, my concurrent dreams, the worry for humiliation silenced.

The purpose of this paper is to reflect upon the diverse experiences that I have had in my personal and professional life. Fortunately, I have had a large mix of diverse friends and experiences in my life. This paper will discuss those diversities as well as the plan to expand on my current knowledge.

The status quo is something that seemingly flawed according to many political theorists. In the writings of Chantal Delsol, The problems of Diversity, the common good and the

By the year 2050, nonwhites will represent close to half of the U.S. population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau projections. By 2005, the ethnic minority share of the workforce is expected to grow to 28 percent, up from 18 percent in 1980 and 22 percent in 1990. Although the African American population is now the largest minority group, the Hispanic and Asian populations are growing much faster. In 1994, the African American population was estimated to be 33 million, or 12.7 percent of the total population, up from 11.7 percent in 1980.

In a utopian society everyone is equal, and one culture is not more dominate than another culture. Also, social and cultural diversity would not exist. Since a utopian society does not exist members of society must strive for inclusion and understanding for cultures that are different from theirs. People exposed to diverse cultures learn to understand the different viewpoints of others. A person’s culture shapes his or her identity and influences his or her behavior and interactions with the world. Also, people tend to use their culture to judge other cultures. When utilized inappropriately, one can discriminate against another race or ethnic group. People tend to fear the unknown or fear other cultures that they do not understand (Okeke-Adeyanju et al., 2014; Sue & Sue, 2016). Cultural diversity is a common term utilized today to describe the practices of diverse cultures, as well as, creates awareness to a melting pot society. This awareness shed light to the inequality and social and cultural issues that are faced by individuals from culturally diverse populations. This paper will describe my personal biases and how my experiences with discrimination affect my relationships with people of different racial and cultural backgrounds. It will include my understanding of the concepts regarding racism and discrimination, as well as, provide information regarding multicultural counseling as stated in the American Counseling Association (ACA) and the National Association of