American society is one of the most diverse in the world as people of all cultural and ethnic backgrounds come to the USA in their search for a better life. Andrea Smith notes that these people often face certain hostility as Americans are not friendly and may have a quite distorted view on people coming from other countries.
The author notes that the society is not unified as different groups and minorities alienate themselves from the rest of the society, and their fight for their rights becomes less effective (Smith 67). The author singles out three pillars which create tension within the American society. Orientalism/War is the pillar that got a second life after 9/11 and other terrorist attacks and has contributed to the creation of tension in the US.
Some believe that terroristic attacks made Americans adopt an image of a terrorist who is Muslim fighting against the rest of the civilized world. However, this is not a decisive factor which led to the development of such an image. Smith claims that western civilization has developed a specific view on people of the Middle East and Asia. Western people saw oriental culture exotic, but it was still inferior and hostile in their opinion.
This idea is manifested in a variety of crusades when Christians thought they had the right to intervene in the affairs of nations living in the eastern part of the world. International terrorism is also an outcome of the idea of orientalism as people of the East started avenging people of the West.
Apart from military conflicts and wars, Orientalism is apparent in Americans’ daily life. Hostility and fear contribute greatly to the emerging misunderstanding between Americans and people of various countries of the Middle East and Asia. For instance, Whites do not understand religious beliefs or traditions of other ethnic groups.
It is possible to assume that Whites are simply unwilling to try to understand others as they continue thinking that they are superior to others. Of course, different traditions may be perceived differently. However, if people knew more about other cultures, this misunderstanding could be eliminated from US society.
Smith also notes that ethnic minorities could achieve more goals in their fight against discrimination if they collaborated and interacted with other ethnic groups (73).
The author stresses that Muslims often use the same patterns as whites do and feel certain hostility to other minorities (Smith 73). Thus, Orientalism in the American society makes people of the East adopt a defensive behavioral pattern as they have to prove they are superior or equal with the rest of the society.
In conclusion, it is possible to state that Orientalism has become one of the factors contributing to the development of tension within American society. At that, people coming from the East often alienate themselves from the rest of society and try to focus on their traditions.
Nonetheless, one of the best ways to diminish tension in society is to start a debate involving all people. All Americans (irrespective of the race, ethnicity, religion, and so on) have to share their views and tell others about their culture. Americans have to understand that they are all truly equal. The concept of Orientalism has to be forgotten and eliminated from US society as it leads to tension and disparity among Americans.
Works Cited
Smith, Andrea. “Heteropatriarchy and the Three Pillars of White Supremacy.” Color of Violence. Ed. INCITE! Women of Color Against Violence. Cambridge, MA: South End Press, 2006. 66-73. Print.