Breaking Social Stratification - Essay Example

The reason that people from Cambodia today are in the third tier of the hierarchy in the United States is that they did not have many reasons to immigrate away from their home until 1975 when the Khmer Rouge gained political power and embarked to commit genocide as a means of controlling the people, almost all of whom experienced near death due to starvation, and many who today are still suffering from the effects of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (Davis).

While many young people in the United States are not aware of the attempted genocide under the leadership of Pol Pot less than two decades before our birth, I feel that the small Cambodian population in the United States needs to be celebrated, elevated, and recognized for their incredible achievements not only in their ability to survive such horror but also in their fortitude to succeed in the United States as many are today as small business owners who work long hours to ensure that their children have a better future. I primarily worked to understand the past of our neighbors from the East and then accepted them as my equals.

When I know that a business is owned by a person who is in the third tier of the United States’ supposed social structure, I get excited and encourage those I know to do the same because the people who are making our donuts and bread today as well as sweeping our floors and cleaning our toilets because they have no formal education have children who are not only embracing the opportunities every other American child has, but they are doing so with the encouragement of parents for whom failure was never an option.