The mantra of the United States advertises life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, as inalienable rights in the quest for the dream of living free to follow your aspirations. Our founding fathers could not have foreseen the greed of today’s capitalism, the challenges of individual identities not native of her people, nor the discord that would come from the ability to follow those individual dreams while following the entrenched Americanized social systems. The truth may be found in a mantra, which was never meant for all Americans. “Life Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness”, a great ideal, but one which seems to apply only those born into privileged white families, and who are considered the elite within the social stratification. …show more content…
485). Immigrants who are legitimized as “white” within the racial definition can be seen to have greater access and considered a lesser threat than those who are considered non-white immigrants (p. 507). The ideology can be construed, the more a group’s ethnic appearance conforms to the perceived whiteness of society in the United States; the less likely they are to suffer from obvious institutionalized bias. The work of Hagan, Shedd and Payne: Race, Ethnicity, and Youth Perceptions of Criminal Injustice (2005), makes an argument of the correlation between the amount of encounters with law enforcement officials and adolescent minority groups, and the psychological effects of those encounters. Events, based on the frequency and outcome of those encounters, which leads to a continuation or hypersensitivity to the feelings of bias and discrimination. The recall of these events, which may in actuality be an exaggeration of the contact, brought on by the experiences in early childhood, serve as a reminder of the individual’s lack of “whiteness”. The basis of the internal conflict would be continuous, even if the non-white individual were able to change their socio-economic status, the effects of their social ethnic stratification in early life formed their world view (p 385). Changing minority social location, being located within a multi-diverse or white communities with whom non-whites
America’s social climate is described as “the melting pot” while the underlying conditions in our current society has, and may always remain one of class, gender, sexual orientation and race discrimination. The origination of our nation began with immigrants seeking freedom from oppressive governments however the method of eradication or control of indigenous peoples and dominating over them became the norm. In today’s climate we have come a long way from dominant oppression and classes based on race and evolved into a subversive form of oppression. The Ethnic Studies course has enlightened my view of conditions and how films discreetly reinforce the stereotypes and class structures to maintain a particular ideology. For this reason, I chose to view the movie The Help because it is considered to promote the ideology of empowering black women during the tumultuous and dangerous 1960s civil rights movement in a volatile Jackson, Mississippi. While the movie delivers a powerful and intriguing theme, the reality is that Hollywood has yet again provided the Eurocentric view and classical style or naturalized ideology through stereotypical roles and dominant power needed to deliver the lower class (black women) to feeling empowered to fight the system.
The United States of America used to be known as the world’s largest melting pot. Meaning many different ethnicities and backgrounds coming and living with one another, and sharing each other’s culture. This can also be defined as assimilation. The United States of America has slowly drifted away from assimilation to isolating those who are different and diverse.
“Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” is every person’s god given right, but what exactly is happiness? Americans have fallen in love with the idea of success, we fantasize about cars, clothes and caviar. We want to be living the high life, but the only way to access the high life is to work for it. To climb the ladder of success till you get to the summit. It’s the American Dream, but that’s just it, it’s nothing but a dream, a fantasy. The reality of life is a boring and stressful existence where many of us are just struggling to make a few dollars. It would suffice to say that the American Dream is in all actuality the American Nightmare. The American Nightmare is a pitiful existence inside a self-made
Known to many as the ‘melting pot,’ the United States consists of a variety of cultures and peoples. Immigrants from near and far traveled and continue to do so for economic opportunities or to escape persecution. One particular group of people who immigrated to the United States were the Filipinos or Pinoys, as some like to call themselves. Due to its 400-year colonization by Spain and the United States, the Filipino American populace increased after the Philippines became a territory under U.S. control. The last Asiatic group to migrate to the United States, the Filipinos have contributed to the American society through a variety of occupations, such as sailors or nannies. Moreover, the U.S. colonization of the Philippines from
Mass incarceration has become a youth phenomenon in Black and Latino Communities. Ninety-five percent of all juveniles sent to adult court are youth of color (Rios, 2006). This disproportionate number of incarcerated youth starts with the policing, surveillance, and targeting of these groups by law enforcement. The issue that will be discussed in this paper is the high rate at which young people of color are assumed to be associated with crime and gang activity within the city of Chicago. There are several effects that drive and produce this misconstrued image of young people of color. Beginning with the discretional judgment of police officers, to the false outcries of the media, these negative views of colored youth have seemingly become ubiquitous in our society. Even when these young people are not committing crime or participating in gang activity they are wrongfully targeted by law enforcement (Skolnick, 2007). This form of policing that involves stopping or targeting an individual based primarily on rather than any individualized suspicion is racial profiling.
So many times the phrase "melting pot" is used to describe the United States of America. It is a country built on ideals such as freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and other basic human rights. These ideals, though they may have originated from European men labeled as liberals, eventually captured followers from all over the world. Soon, America was a mixture of peoples with different ethnic backgrounds, religions, and cultures all working together for the "American Dream."
How would you feel if the outcome of your interaction with authority depended on whether you were black, Latino, or white? Unfortunately, police brutality is the sad reality that many black and Latino boys experience in their childhood. The disadvantages of their upbringing results to the reinforcement of societal restrictions on their success. On a positive note, education becomes salvation to marginalized group because it provides them means to escape the system that prevents them from becoming successful. However, Charles M. Blows and Victor M. Rios reveal that black and Latino boys are at a disadvantage in the school to prison pattern. Therefore, the recent death of Michael Brown only heightens public awareness of police brutality on colored males. According to Charles M. Blow, bias educational system is a major factor in criminalization of black and Latino boys. But we cannot disregard that a significant perpetrator of racism is ignorance and false media representation. Therefore an increase of awareness of the existence of discrimination and improvement on media depiction of black and Latino characters would render racism defenseless.
In Forging a New Vision of America 's Melting Pot by Gregory Rodriguez the author expresses support for a heavy Mexican influence in the United States and integration of races. The author made some points about how legislatures have tried to stop Mexicans from entering the country and have repeatedly tried to keep them down as second class citizens. It seems that he wants Mexicans to have more influence in mainstream media, but I feel as if he 's pushing it too strong. I 'm all for equality, but it seems that he wants Hispanics to take a very large piece of the pie. I prefer an equal amount of the pie for all. It seems that the issue the author is stating about discrimination and legislative action against Hispanics comes from issues stemming from the old days. He mentions the Nineteen-twenties Texas representative John C. Box and his controversial views on immigration of Mexicans, but then he states a strong support in the Nineteen-nineties and their “Latino issues are American issues” mantra. I see why some people may be worried that Mexicans are taking over, because they may lose a little of their culture. Although change isn 't always bad, we cannot just barge in and force a change. America is a diverse country and we have a piece of the whole world here, so for one social group to complain and want their influence to be on a grand scale is just preposterous. We all need to share this melting pot of stew.
The melting pot myth is a belief that America is a society of equality and that racism is not applicable. Although racism is still a major issue in our society and thriving to this day. At a young age, people are taught that whites are greater than any of the other cultures, which causes many of us to create a sense of our own society. The melting pot society may have been an attempt to create equality, but was it ever truly an entity? The melting pot society is only a image for a culture containing different types of ethnicities and races that blend together as a whole, but it is not a society that contains any equality. The myth of unity will never become a reality, and here is why; the myth is used to create a glamorized version of American history where every immigrant was greeted with an equal opportunity for a better lifestyle (“Pluralism vs. Melting Pot” pdf, by Dr. Taylor); and it puts responsibility on an individual to face poverties and assimilations, which is more difficult for ethnic minorities, because of how race is perceived.
America the great melting pot. Some have argued that the melting pot analogy is inaccurate. Instead America is like a tossed salad. A person can see all the individual ingredients that make up the salad. People will argue of what can go into a salad and what cannot go into just as people will argue about the place of certain groups with America. Some find disgust in certain groups of people and praise other. The situation is dynamic. The way people interact with groups are constantly changing and morphing due to different influences. Antisemitism is one of the ways people interact with the tossed salad that is America. Antisemitism in United States is on a decline because other groups are being used as scapegoats instead, Jews are not seen to pose a threat, a strong Holocaust remembrance, and the hatred of African Americans continues to be the predominate form of hate in the American context.
According to The Bureau of International Information Programs of the US Department of State, "Becoming American: Beyond the Melting Pot" they stated that, "The United States has been ‘a permanently unfinished country' because it has been continuously built and rebuilt by immigration" (5). So what does it mean to be "American" in a country as diverse as the United States? In Immigration Issues: Major Issues in American history, Henry Bischoff stated, "The only man who is a good American is the man who is an American and nothing else" (201). This acknowledges the fact that in order for immigrants to be given the favorable circumstances of being accepted into the American mainstream, it is required for them to lose their identity and adapt into
America has had a reputation for being a melting pot since 1782. The Statue of Liberty and the Liberty Bell are visual symbols of America’s reputation. However, it has been recommended that America no longer allow just any immigrant into America due to increased fear involving job loss and terrorism. The world continues to change and more violence is persistent in countries all over. Therefore, America should forget its reputation as a melting pot.
The United States is commonly know as a melting pot of nations, in which people from around the world have emigrated to form a homogeneous yet varied culture. Although we come from different ethnic groups, we are usually bound together through our common English language. This becomes an issue, however, when immigrants are not familiar with English and American culture, and instead attempt to keep their own heritage alive. They are often torn between identities through language, the one they speak at home which they are familiar with, and the one they must adhere to in public. This often leads to struggle and conflict on both sides, dealing with different cultures and how people react when assimilation occurs. Because of this, living in the United States often requires us to completely accept only one identity, even though hints of the other may spill over at times.
American culture has become a melting pot, filled with the influence of every person that has entered its borders. With the rise of the technological age, there is Internet access and increased traveling that has led to acquired languages and cultures from across the globe. All over, cultural restaurants, dances and shopping centers are becoming successful out the exploitation of lifestyles from thousands of miles away. In the music industry, it is common to see artist borrow aspects from different ethnicities around the world, to accent their song with cultural beats, dancing or clothing.
Multiculturalism is also known as ethnic diversity relating to communities containing multiple cultures. The term is used in two different broad ways, descriptively and normatively. By using the descriptive term, we usually refer to the simple fact of cultural diversity. This can be applied to the demographic make-up of a specific place and sometimes at the organizational level such as schools, neighborhoods or nations. The normative term is often referred to ideologies or politics that promote this diversity or its institutionalization. The United States have been a magnet for people all over the globe, searching for a better life and bringing their own culture and traditions to a new vast country. No