Race and American Community - Essay Example

American Community According to the Oxford English dictionary the word race means, "each of the individual divisions of mankind; a group of people orthings with a common feature; and a subdivision of species". Race is very important to us because it differentiates one group of people from another. But at the same time it is also quite unimportant, as all human beings are created equal in the eyes of God and are composed of a similar anatomical framework. I am personally a Caucasian male in my early twenties with French and German heritage. During the early 1800s my ancestors traveled all across the Pacific Ocean and came to America to seek better job opportunities and education. In short they came in search of a better and more profound life both for themselves as well as their children. They came looking for a life style more enhanced and improved than they had previously been living in their original country of heritage. With the passage of time, my ancestors came to settle in St. Louis, Mo. Whenever one discusses the notion of race, it is essential to discuss the concept of community as well. One cannot exist without the other and both are essential for the survival of any society. Therefore, in the same dictionary, the definition of community is given as, "a group of people living together in one place such that they have the same religion, race etc.; and the people of an area or country considered as a group." It is true that communities originally started off with people of a certain background, a specific guild living together such that they either had their professions, color or ethnicity as a common denominator. Such communities have existed in most parts of USA, until recently. With the advent of globalization, immigration of people to the New World from all over the planet and enhanced awareness of other cultures among the local population, all communities have had to undergo drastic changes. My community is also a part of this modern global society. It is diverse from the past ones in the sense that people of all racial backgrounds coexist in it. However, it is not to say that communities no longer exist and that groups of people no longer tend to segregate together. They do but in a very different set-up. This is because the common denominators that previously made-up a community, have changed. In my opinion the two basic factors that makes up a community now a days is the monetary resources as well as the age group of people. People with high-income levels usually tend to segregate in a certain area of a city whereas those with less income tend to live in separate neighborhoods or areas of their own. The same may be said for people of different ages groups. The elderly of course live in retirement homes or neighborhoods specifically designed for them. Whereas the young people prefer to live in an area with hip nightclubs and a lot of hustle n' bustle, families with small children will instead try to find a safe and peaceful neighborhood with low crime rates. Thus communities still exist but they have taken on a new face that is quite different from any previous one. For a moment, picture the community that I live in. Around where I live there are five churches; each belongs to a different Christian denomination, two synagogues, a Muslim mosque and a Hindu temple. The Buddhists of the area gather together at a member's house to pray. This sufficiently shows that people of all religions have come to dwell and live together in a single community and that religion is no longer a denominator for a community. I personally have friends from all of the aforementioned religious groups. Consider the various ceremonies that these different groups follow, "decorating the hands of the bride with Hennna (Arabian), spreading of rose petals (English), jumping the broom (African), bride wearing numerous robes (Japanese), Bride carrying lump of sugar to signify sweet life (Greek) etc. (http://www.slpl.org/slpl/interests/article240109217.asp) Thus, when one goes to a wedding in our community you can be sure to find a wide range of traditions being followed dependent of the ethnicity and cultural background of the bride and groom. Whereas once my church (I would not like to disclose my denomination) had only white Americans in it, there are now people of all colors, ethnicity and racial background who worship there. In other words, it is no longer compulsory that a person from China will be a Buddhist and/or Arabic a Muslim. A few people who come to my church cannot even speak proper English! Though it is true that when one goes to a black church, they are likely to black American there and the same goes for White churches. However, the stringent barriers that once prevented the black from going to a white church or vice versa have been tremendously relaxed. Though after the incident of 9/11 most people believe that there is a lack of tolerance for people with other religious background, I personally believe that though this is true for people of other countries, but within the United States, we have become much more tolerant of other religions and cultures. Which is of course a wonderful thing as it shows that we have taken America and being Americans as our common denominator. Every church and religious organization in my community has its own leaders. Therefore, it is impossible to tell who actually the leader is. That is the reason why it is mandatory that our governmental systems work in a profound manner. As the only leaders that the entire community (which is in effect so diverse in nature) can listen to is the local government, and the only laws that the collective society adheres to are the federal ones. Though there are fights on racism, especially at the school level, when children have unformed notions in their minds; the adults in my community tend to have much more tolerance for people of other ethnic backgrounds. But, at the same time it is true that prejudice from our society has not yet been fully eradicated. Though adults have learned to work together in harmony with people of different backgrounds, they still find it difficult to socialize and mix with them after working hours. Mainly because the professional life of most people is in sharp contrast to there home life and colleagues (take an example of one as a African American and the other one as a Chinese American) often don't have much in common with out side of the business sector. But, all in all I find that people from different communities treat each other with tolerance and patience. Work manuals often contain information regarding the holidays of different religions. However, since our country is a melting pot for people of all beliefs and ethnic groups, it becomes literally impossible to give a holiday for each and every religion/social occasion that all of the employees may have. Therefore, those people who may need to take a day off for some religious occasion (e.g. the Muslim employees often take 2 days in a year off for a religious holiday known as the Eid) save up their vacation/holiday time for those specific occasions. Hence, whereas one may find a lot of written material on ma/paternity leave, one does not find much on leave for religious holidays. However, often work manuals do have statements regarding acceptance and forbearance of all the employees regardless of their ethnic and cultural backgrounds. In addition, prejudice and discrimination of or among the employees is prohibited and looked down upon. If I were of Hispanic decent or maybe Asian the local media would be more likely to talk issues regarding to my race, color or creed. The only issues that white Americans face especially in the media are of being prejudiced against people of other cultural backgrounds. I wholly agree that there are White people who are prejudiced against natives of other origins. However, there are also those (like me!) who take others as complete equal to us. Therefore, we often feel as if we have been put on the spot for no apparent reason. I come from a middle class family, therefore, yes; the local media does take my interest into view and does represent me. As the economic backbone of any country is the middle class sector, it is imperative that our issues and problems be listened to in a profound and eloquent manner. Minority group interests are represented to a certain extent in the community. I would not say that they are fully represented, as there are the groups are continuously struggling to get their voice heard. For example, the two biggest religions in the country are Christianity and Judaism. Therefore, we all get a holiday on their religious occasions, however, the minorities, the Hindus, the Buddhists, the Muslims, as well as all of the other organized religions feel that it is wrong that their children have to go to school on their special occasions. Similarly, the vegetarians Moms want veggie-foods to be introduced at school lunch for their children, so that they don't have doggy bag their lunches every day and can eat with their peers. Similarly, Muslim mothers want Halal foods in the cafeteria. Therefore, there are numerous minority group issues that are continuously cropping up. However, outsiders cannot help the minority groups of any city. The members themselves have to look after their own interests. For Example, in the case of the Black American population of the city, one of the its most prominent citizens will have to be Mr. Dick Gregory who was born in 1932 and spent a better part of his life fighting drug abuse and as an activist to help the Black American Community of St. Louis. (http://www.dickgregory.com/about_dick_gregory.html) Similarly, organizations such as CUBE at St. Louis are helping children overcome their poverty and racial issues in order to enhance their achievement at school. And though the local government tries it's utmost to represent the interests of its minority population trying to satisfy the needs and wants of such diverse people is a very difficult and arduous task. In the end I would like to say that though my love for this community is profound, one of the changes that I would like to see in my community is a sense of commitment and responsibility to our nation. America is made up of people from all backgrounds. And this is exactly what makes our country so special. Rather than being intolerant and prejudiced of one another we need to make a conscious effort to bring out the best we possibly can in all of our people. Because no matter where we may have come from in the past, the bottom line is that at present, we are all Americans. References 2005-2006 CUBE Report Council of Urban Boards of Education (CUBE) National School Boards Association (NABA), Accessed August 21, 2006 Dick Gregory for the People Theodore Myles Publishing, Inc., Accessed August 21, 2006 Oxford English Dictionary (2002) Oxford University Press St.LouisPublicLibrary Staff, Accessed August 21, 2006 Read More