Introduction
Social harmony is a process of achieving peaceful coexistence between different parts of society. It is typically expressed through promoting love, peace, trust, admiration, respect, and equity upon everyone in society while pushing against discrimination based on gender, color, race, age, weight, and origin (Falcao, 2021). The US has come a long way to achieve a semblance of social harmony, having abandoned or pushed aside slavery, making ways to achieve gender equality, and opening up borders (Falcao, 2021). Nevertheless, there is still plenty of room for improvement. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate cultural acceptance in the US in connection to respect and provide means of increasing respect for other cultures.
Cultural Acceptance in the US
Cultural acceptance in the US has made a way from being a melting pot of cultures, where foreign ideas and beliefs were molded to adhere to the dominant European white paradigm, to respecting diversity. The most predominant cultures in the US are six, including Asian-American, Black-American, European-American, Hispanic, Indigenous, and Middle Eastern (Brookfield, 2018). European-American culture was and is the most dominant culture, though its influence dwindled over the years (Falcao, 2021). Black, Hispanic, Asian, and indigenous cultures have been increasingly celebrated and acknowledged in the US.
Middle-Eastern culture, at the same time, remains somewhat of a pariah among others due to its strong perceived association with tragedies that happened in modern US history. These include the 9/11 attacks, Boston bombings, and the recent retreat from Afghanistan, among others (Falcao, 2021). People identifying as Muslims face much disrespect in the US.
Causes for Loss of Respect
One of the major causes for the loss of respect between different US cultures lies in the fact that some cultures are different in significant ways that are not acceptable to others. While the ‘melting pot’ paradigm was discarded, a certain degree of assimilation is required to generate respect (Anker & Afdal, 2018). From a psychological standpoint, for individuals to respect their differences, they need to have enough in common (Brookfield, 2018). For example, Middle-Eastern cultures have strong religious influences, the tenets of which often clash with women’s rights. Treating women in the US the same way it is done in the Middle East can result in a loss of respect.
Other causes of disrespect are often tied to long-term relationships between different cultures. For example, Black and Hispanic cultures were suppressed by White European culture for a long time, and disrespecting it became a means of self-defense (Falcao, 2021). Likewise, the disrespect shown is being returned, resulting in a circle of disrespect. From a psychological perspective, such a circle is incredibly difficult to break because all sides feel justified in not giving respect to others, either for past or present misgivings (Brookfield, 2018).
Ways to Improve Respect for Other Cultures
Improving respect for other cultures requires breaking the cycle of disrespect currently in place. It is a long and time-consuming process, which requires all cultures to show respect to others. If only the dominant culture gives way and dedicates itself to respecting others while the rest do not reciprocate, it may result in a relapse and continuation of age-long feuds (Anker & Afdal, 2018). This can be seen in the US throughout the past half a decade, where representatives of European-American culture largely rallied behind Donald Trump, despite the country having a history of progressivism beforehand (Falcao, 2021). From a psychological perspective, harmony and unity can be achieved when all cultures adopt a degree of similarity to one another (common values) and put past grievances behind to advance into the future (Brookfield, 2018).
Conclusions
The US has come a long way in respecting different cultures and improving interactions between them. Still, parity is a long way away since European-American culture maintains a dominating position. Respect is a psychological phenomenon based on familiarity and willingness to accept differences. In order to achieve it, representatives of different cultures must find common ground and move on.
References
Anker, T., & Afdal, G. (2018). Relocating respect and tolerance: A practice approach in empirical philosophy. Journal of Moral Education, 47(1), 48-62.
Brookfield, K. (2018). ‘Building respect and changing cultures in the university community’: An account of research in progress. IMPact: The University of Lincoln Journal of Higher Education Research, 1(1), 1-14.
Falcão, G. (2021). Tradition and Innovation. CRC Press.