Why Do Americans Become A Multicultural Society?

Multiculturalism Explained In One Word: HAPA by Kristen Lee was a radio broadcast for Kristen Lee since she was leaving NPR’s intern program. The gift for her time was a segment where she could talk about anything that she wanted on the broadcast. Kristen’s broadcast followed the idea that people should not define who you are by your culture and ethnicity. Ms. Lee explains how she looks is not who she is, “ I’m a quarter Chinese and the rest is Swedish. From my appearance, people assume I am Asian, but how could a quarter measurement define who I am? “ (Lee 41). This evidence highlights that people stereotype her on how she looks, but that is not who she is as a person. She soon emphasizes how she personally benefited from being stereotyped,

The United States is a multicultural country, because it has unique history background. It contains different races, religions, and cultures. Although USA is a comprehensive country that not has official race, language, and religions, too many different races or cultures in the one society will occur more conflicts, and the people will be more sensitive about racial topic. The prejudice is in people’s subconscious, more and more conflicts are existing in civil society, even the law is equal. For instance, the large groups faced racism such as native Americans (Indians), African Americans, Asian Americans, and Latin Americans; the small groups such as Arab American, Jews, and Gypsies. Thus, I think Americans are becoming less equal.

     Multicultural education can be something that is as simple as a change in the curriculum adding new and diverse materials (2nd paragraph). As the world changes our ability to learn should grow. New things happen every day and the only way we can grow from these

For years minorities were not allowed to be on television, movies, or any other kind of media. During the Jim Crow era, every area of life was met with inequality. In recent years, after a long struggle by each of the minorities for their civil rights, they have equal opportunities. This made entertainment even more diverse, even though it seems like everything is equal. There is still some progress that need to be made to truly show how diverse America has become.

Britain has changed quite significantly over the past few decades in terms of cultural diversity. Whereas Britain was largely white not so long ago, the number of ethnic minorities has been steadily increasing and this growth does not look likely to stop anytime soon. Demographic experts have, infact, predicted that by 2050, 1 in every 5 British person will belong to an ethnic minority. The question issue I will be discussing in the following essay is: what effect does this influx of immigrants and their cultures have on the social integrity of Britain and its people?

Why is the United States a multicultural nation with an alienated multi-cultural environment? “It would be nice if every citizen was literate in English, but that’s not the case” (Mercer). There are different situations that are still in debate within the American Nation. One of them is the bilingual ballots, which allow non-native English speakers to participate in the elections and contribute with their votes. Another topic is the United States not having an official language as do other countries since it is currently considered a multi-cultural nation. Lastly and foremost, the nation should find ways to focus on educating immigrant children and adults in order for them to fully contribute to the country.

As soon as someone calls the United States a “melting pot,” I immediately picture the School House Rock music video in which hundreds of happy immigrants dive into the pot to swim together in harmony. The idea of America as a melting pot is, on the surface, a good-intentioned metaphor that carries with it the implication of our unity within one, uniquely American culture. Unfortunately, this metaphor carries negative connotations as well, including forced assimilation into the majority as you “melt away” into the mix. Imagine five pieces of chocolate, one white, added to a heated saucepan; eventually, it all turns brown. Despite the multiplicity of cultures added to this melting pot, something is lost in the final product: diversity. In a melting pot, it is suggested that we blend together; we are indistinct; we are Americans united in one culture, one language, one creed. Simply stated, this is not an accurate representation of our country’s culture or its citizens. I find the “stew” to be a much more appropriate metaphor. Even when heated and stirred, a stew maintains its individual elements (potatoes, beef, onions, carrots, celery, etc.), but also allows for some transfer of flavors. The beef flavor is infused with notes of carrot and onion; the carrots have the added flavors of the broth and beef. The stew continues to have unique, individual elements, but it tastes better in tangent with other flavors. This is a more fitting description of America, as citizens

Immigrating can be a stressful and even traumatic experience for both parents and children. Additionally, living in a culture and language that is different from one’s own can be frustrating and stressful. For Korean immigrant families they can become caught between the traditional values of their Korean homeland and the new values and systems of the United States. These

As immigration continues to increment in developed countries, several changes within a country’s culture tend to drastically occur. Since the 1990s, the time period in which immigration became visible as the main focus of public policy leading to major impacts within the democratic elections worldwide, modern democracies such as the United States and European countries are currently facing the issue which includes the questioning of how many immigrants to accept, what rights or special services should be provided for them and so on. Many see this issue as a positive impact towards the country, by immigrants enriching its’ culture and also as an economic contribution towards the country itself. However, there are those who believe that immigration should be highly controlled and that it deteriorates a country as many immigrants may come into the country bringing negative attributes, which leads to the question: Do immigrants benefit or damage culture?

The increasing accommodations directed toward immigrant culture worries many Americans. Americans fear the special treatment granted to immigrants will affect the unifying force of the country. Today, the trend is toward multiculturalism, diversity and adapting the newcomer, rather than on the newcomer adapting himself or herself to a diverse society (61).

Multicultural education is valid only when the racism that has denied minority cultures is first confronted and studied. The trouble with most attempts at multicultural education is that they lack an anti-racist thrust. In the US multicultural education all too often fails to address questions of racism.

Study asked whether strong ethnic communities are needed for immigrants to become active citizens in the host society or it insulates them from the mainstream society. It revealed that a strong Korean identity was correlated with their engagement in their ethnic community but not in their host society. However, acculturative stress and co-ethnic civic engagement were not related for individuals who resided in the US for more than 15

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.

In America there are a multitude of people that live, and are even more people migrating by the years. Back in the earlier years of American society, the country probably would have been considered a melting pot by most people, as the years gone by the technology, the people, and the country as a whole has evolved becoming more diverse, making it more of a tossed salad. A few of the many things that have been diversified in this country are the amount of races living here, the different religions, and also the plethora of type’s food.

Soojin has been acculturated in the integration model, “which refers to biculturalism – a process in which individuals identify with both their own culture and the host culture” (Hays & Erford, 2014, p. 18). However, there are many stressors, (which Soojin has experienced) associated with acculturation including giving up and limiting the Korean culture to succeed in the United States, and experiencing discrimination and prejudice from both Caucasians and Koreans living in the United States. Because of this Soojin has experienced depression, anxiety, and isolation. As research reveals, “the more acculturated some racial/ethnic minorities are (e.g., Latino Americans, Asian Americans), and thus the longer they have lived in the United States and have been exposed to oppression, the more mental and physical health problems they report” (Hays & Erford, 2014, p. 19).