Introduction
Since the world has different cultures, races, and ethnicities, cultural diversity is common in cosmopolitan cities and developed countries due to immigration of people from various places in search of lucrative places where they can invest their businesses or explore their careers.
In essence, cultural diversity is a great element of a society because it determines values, principles, and ethics that the society upholds in a given period (Page, 2007). Usually, the nature of cultural diversity in a given society reflects the ability of diverse cultures to coexist. In modern day, a society with the most diverse cultures has some values that make it appreciates other cultures, while the one with the least diverse cultures has some values that discourage cultural coexistence (Herring, 2009).
Thus, cultural diversity can measure the extent of cultural coexistence in a certain society. Since cultural diversity has significant impact on the society, this project examines different aspects of cultural diversity in the United States such as personal experience, benefits, challenges, and the role of the media and individual in shaping it.
Personal Experience
The realization that cultural diversity is the strength of a nation has helped me to understand and appreciate people from diverse cultural backgrounds.From my experience, I have understood that cultural diversity is a great social asset, which the United States of America owns because it shapes social, economic, and political aspects of the Americans.
A close examination of the cultural diversity in the United States reveals that it is a product of massive immigration of people from diverse cultural backgrounds (Putman, 2009). Conventionally, the United States has become a ‘melting pot’ of different cultures because it provides a home to diverse cultures and enables them to coexist peacefully. Currently, every citizen in the United States identifies more with Americans than their respective ethnicities because the American culture dominates the society.
Since I understand that cultural diversity is a social asset that the United States possesses, I have learned that my culture as a Jew has made significant contributions to the cultural development of Americans. Before assimilating into American culture, Banker (2000) states that Jews underwent through persecution, racial discrimination, and experienced marginalization during 17th and 18 centuries when the anti-Semitic laws in the Europe compelled them to flee to the United States of America.
Since the United States provided a safe haven for the emigrating Jews, they assimilated into American culture and become part of Americans. Therefore, I have learned that promotion of cultural diversity in the United States did encourage Jews to settle and assimilate into American culture after fleeing persecution and racial discrimination in the Europe.
Demographic Projection, Challenges, and Benefits
By 2050, the United States population will be more diverse than the current population due to the continued immigration of people from diverse cultures. Since the United States values diversity, it has encouraged immigration of people from different countries who have different cultural backgrounds, thus contributing to its cultural diversity. Across the world, the United States is a country that registers the highest number of immigrants both in annually and cumulatively.
The United States hosts over 50 million immigrants and allows over 700,000 immigrants annually (Moses, 2006). The immigrants come from different racial and ethnical backgrounds, thus increasing the diversity of the population in the United States. On this basis, demographic projection shows that by 2050, the population of the United States will not only increase in size but also in diversity due to massive immigration.
The increase in cultural diversity poses significant challenges to the United States in terms of preservation and transformation of native culture. The Americans have their own native culture and lifestyle that they have adopted and constructed from the time when they got the independence.
The American culture reflects the values and aspirations of the people that made the United States to achieve its stature in the international arena. According to Bowman (2006), the immigrants pose a cultural challenge because they come with their cultures, which have the capacity to transform the American culture as they passively assimilate into it.
Janssens, Bechtoldt, and Prarolo (2010) assert that the interaction of Americans and immigrants contributes to the occurrence of hybrid culture that supports the aspirations and values of different cultures, thus causing a cultural transformation. The cultural transformation can be dangerous particularly when the culture of the immigrants predominates the native culture and overrides its impacts on society.
Despite posing significant challenges to the preservation and transformation of culture, cultural diversity has great benefits. One of the benefits of cultural diversity is that it enriches a culture of a nation (Barth & Price, 1996). Owing to cultural diversity, the United States has diverse cultural activities, norms, traditions, food, and values that enrich and shape American culture.
Given that current society is grappling with issues of globalization such as culture, language, and tradition amongst others, the United States finds it easy when coping with globalization issues because it has diverse cultures.
Another benefit of cultural diversity is that it allows people to appreciate other cultures; hence, supporting peaceful coexistence amidst diversity (Martinot, 2003). Additionally, recognition of cultural diversity in the United States has led to the empowerment of minority cultures and human rights, which consequently has resulted in the promotion of democracy in the society.
Acceptance and Cultural Pluralism
For the United States to foster the climate of acceptance and pluralism, it should recognize the importance of other cultures in shaping social, political, and economic aspects of the society. Since other cultures promote cultural diversity of the United States, the government should provide favorable immigration laws that encourage immigrants to come and settle without undergoing through undue scrutiny.
Moreover, given that about 50 millions of immigrants live in the United States, the government, through the education system, should adopt cultural studies in educational curriculum so that children can get an opportunity to understand other cultures and appreciate their relevance in the society (Moses, 2006). The creation of cultural festivals is another way of creating a favorable climate that leads to acceptance of cultural diversity.
Perpetuation of Stereotypes and Appreciation of Diversity
The media is a powerful tool that can cause perpetuation of cultural stereotypes in the society, thus impeding acceptance of cultural diversity and pluralism. The media can stereotype that a given race or ethnicity is best among others in terms of the social, economic, and political status. For example, the media stereotypes that the Black Americans are the poor, drug dealers, and criminals because of their socioeconomic conditions (Gabbidon, Greene, & Young, 2002).
In essence, the poverty, drug abuse, and crime exist among different cultures at varying levels that do not warrant stereotyping. In racial discrimination, the media stereotypes that Back Americans are less human than the Whites are because they are unintelligent and lazy. Moreover, the media also stereotypes that all terrorists emanates from the Arab and Islamic countries.
Although the media has potential to perpetuate cultural stereotypes, it also has the capacity to enhance appreciation of cultural diversity. By reporting on positive aspects of different cultures, the media can make Americans to appreciate different cultures.
One of the reasons why people do not appreciate or stereotype certain cultures is because they do not understand their norms, traditions, values, and principles. Thus, since the media can provide detailed information about different cultures, Americans get the opportunity to learn and understand them, therefore, promoting appreciation of culture in the diverse society.
Individuals Roles and My Behaviors
Individual members of the society have a noble role of reducing prejudice and enhancing appreciation of cultural diversity. As the United States has the capacity to formulate laws and regulations that encourage immigration and protect immigrants, individual Americans have a role of creating a favorable societal environment that is not hostile, but encourages the immigrants to live comfortably.
This means that the interaction of government and individual members creates a favorable societal environment where the Americans welcome the immigrants by appreciating diverse cultures.
Since an individual can influence appreciation of cultures, I can change my behavior to appreciate other cultures by learning about them. Learning about other cultures enables one to understand their traditions, norms, values, and principles, thus appreciating their cultures (Herring, 2009). Furthermore, attending cultural festivals, adopting some traditions, and speaking certain cultural languages enable me to assimilate into a culture and appreciate its cultural values, traditions, norms, and principles.
Conclusion
Cultural diversity is a social asset that the United States has invested a lot in it by granting citizenship to thousands of immigrants annually. Although immigrants threaten the preservation of native culture, they enrich the cultural diversity of the population in the United States; hence, providing a competitive edge in globalization because cultural diversity lessens the experience of cultural barriers.
The media and individuals have a noble role in shaping cultural diversity because they can either perpetuate cultural stereotypes or enhance appreciation of cultural diversity. Thus, individuals and the media should help in reducing stereotypes and prejudices that perpetuate cultural discrimination by embracing societal values that appreciate cultural diversity.
References
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Barth, R., & Price, A. (1996). Cultural sensitivity and diversity awareness: Bridging the gap between families and providers. The Source, 6(3), 1-13.
Bowman, J. (2006). Role strain and adaptation issues in the strength-based model: Diversity, multilevel, and life span considerations. Counseling psychologist, 34(1), 118-133.
Gabbidon, S., Greene, H., & Young, V. (2002). African American classics in criminology and criminal justice. New York: SAGE Publisher
Herring, C. (2009). Does diversity pay: Race, gender, and the business case for diversity. American Sociological Review, 74(2), 208-224.
Janssens, M., Bechtoldt, M., & Prarolo, G. (2010). The sustainability of cultural diversity: Nations, cities, and organizations. New York: Edward Eglar Publishing.
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Moses, J. (2006). International migration: Globalization’s last frontier. New York: Zed Books
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