It is important to note that the inherent identity of the United States has always been to be the land of freedom and opportunities. Although it is up to debate and discussion to address the extent of the truth behind these aspirations, the mere fact that it is the framework merits its maintenance and preservation. Every culture deserves respect and a non-ethnocentric view, but they should not be embraced for America to maintain its identity since fairness should be the basis rather than forced equality.
Firstly, the practical manifestation of being an equal opportunity employer, educator, or any other form enabler of the concept is a forced one, which goes against meritocracy. Multiculturalism is about accepting, respecting, and tolerating other cultures, whereas diversity is a broader term for being inclusive of not only other cultures and ethnic groups but genders, sexualities, or disabilities as well. However, the core American identity merits its preservation, which means that other cultures should be respected, but not embraced to the point at which they change or replace the core framework. This has a serious side effect on the minorities themselves, such as affirmative action-based discrimination against Asian students at Harvard (Liptak & Hartocollis, 2022). The current system forces equality rather than promoting fairness in opportunities, where minorities or women are promoted not on the basis of their merits but rather identities.
In conclusion, maintaining American identity and respecting as well as accepting other cultures and diverse groups are not mutually exclusive. The latter is not to be allowed to replace or alter the former. It is more sensible to adhere to fair rather than forced equal opportunities, which manifests itself in practice problematically for all groups. Thus, both multiculturalism and diversity are important, but they must not be legislatively and artificially supported to avoid issues such as affirmative action.
Reference
Liptak, A., & Hartocollis, A. (2022). Supreme Court will hear challenge to affirmative action at Harvard and U.N.C. The New York Times. Web.