Cultural Diversity - Assignment Example

1. What information about diversity in the United s has helped you better understand or relate to others in ways that you may not have in the past?  In past, several aspects of diversity in the United States have been studied. It is evident that it is not possible to promote diversity where differences prevail to such greater extent. In America, respect of human dignity, freedom and equity are always valued. America has several policies and laws which support the minority group so that their rights cannot be misused. Diversity which has been primarily caused by migration of people can cause serious issues if not handled properly. It can deteriorate the uniqueness of every community and ethnicity. Some major recent incidents like 9/11 can give birth to issues like stereotyping, discrimination etc. Therefore, these issues need to be resolved at governmental as well as individual level. 2. Have you learned something new about your own racial, ethnic, or cultural history?  The United States has had an extensive history of diversity. Diversity has permeated in every aspect of the society of United State and there is no sign of it getting decreased. The new phenomenon which I learnt is the basic reason of cultural diversity, which is Immigration. Migration of people from all over the world has made America the most diversified country ever. People from every community, country and state are living in America. The cultural history of United States tells that the country has never been so much diverse until the last two decades. From the past 20 years, United States has undergone several challenges in managing with diversity. 3. Trends in immigration will continue to shape the demographics of the United States. What will the U.S. population look like in the year 2050? Why do you think so?  Inability to understand the diversified cultural languages, rituals, beliefs and heritage has become a major obstacle in the way of inclusion. Orientation of diversity includes interaction, experience and individual understanding with diverse culture. In the past few decades, millions of people migrated to America in the search of better life, job and security. Migrations of millions of people including Asians, Hispanics, African-American has caused great diversity in the states of America. According to an urban sociologist, Robert Lang, by 2050, Americans would look back and think that it wouldn’t be a big deal to control the immigration and diversity controversies. A demographer at Brookings Institution, William Frey, says that by looking at the current situation, the population of white people in next twenty years cannot be appreciated. According to his predictions, there are greater chances for America in future to have population comprising of all ethnicities and races. 4. What challenges does the United States face due to the diversity of its people?  The realm of diversity in United States continues to grow as the time passes on. The reasons due to which practitioners are concerned to the issue of diversity are the challenges which it brings with itself. The biggest challenge is an individual’s response to the diverse society or multiculturalism. America has given equal rights to everyone no matter from what cultural or religious background a person comes from. This issue has created a need of reformation of educational systems. Every religion has different set of requirements which demands certain course of action to be followed for instance establishment of Muslim schools and mosques for Muslims, temples for Hindus etc. Incidents like 9/11 furthermore ignited the issues of diversity. These issues, if not handled carefully can harm the minority groups as well as the American natives. The degrees of aging have also increased more than before. People are working for a longer period of time and even older people are also working for a longer period creating new levels of aging. In 2010, the population of people aged 85+ jumped from 3 million to 5.5 million that is from 1.2% to 1.8% of the total population (Nasser, 2011). 5. What are the benefits of such a diverse society?  Despite of such challenges, there are various benefits of diversity in America. In America, multiculturalism has been accepted as an official policy. The government of America supports radio programs, newspaper, television shows in minority languages. The government also supports the occasion and events of minorities which include festivals, music, arts, holidays and other celebrations. The US constitution has provided liberty in judicial laws and marriage. It also encourages foreign trading. In American schools and colleges, prejudices and discrimination on the basis of racism is considered as punishable act. Courses in school including history, literature, art, sociology and philosophy teach the benefits and importance of multiculturalism to students. Scholarships on the basis of merit are provided to students irrespective of their background, religion and color (Sengupta, 2010). Multiculturalism in America is still supporting immigrants and has shown number of positive aspects. Despite of a greater weightage to the positive side of multiculturalism in America, some degree of corruption still prevails in the American society pertaining to multiculturalism. 6. How can we foster a climate of acceptance and cultural pluralism in the United States?  Cultural pluralism is a situation where minority groups fully participate in the dominant activities of country. Researchers and practitioners have put forward various ways of doing so. Minority groups must be provided the equal opportunities in every aspect of life from education to job, from voting to participating as a candidate etc. Apart from this, problems related to diversity must be abolished at governmental level which means that government should formulate policies for minority groups where equal rights are given to them at every level. Another way for the acceptance of cultural pluralism is to educate the minority groups as well as the natives about the benefits and importance of diversity. It must be taught that it would be beneficial for both the entities if they work hand in hand as each entity will help in recovering the weaknesses of other entity. 7. In what ways do the media perpetuate stereotyping and prejudice? Provide examples to support your assertion.  In today’s environment, media plays a vital role in perpetuating the discrimination, prejudices and stereotyping. Media can assist in a positive manner and can also play a negative role for any kind of situation. For cultural difference, media can promote negative news about a specific community. To certain extent, media of every country are in the hands of its governmental authorities and government decides what news needs to be released in public. Recently, after the incident of 9/11 media played a vital role in creating stereotyping and prejudices against Muslims. Only because of this incident and discrimination, millions of innocent Muslims and kids have been killed and are still being targeted all over the world. Apart from this instance, there are many other countless incidents which shape the minds of viewers and affect the way they deal with people in their lives on day to day basis. The advantage of media can be taken by government in order to eradicate the cultural and religious discrimination which is prevailing in America especially. 8. In what ways do the media help foster appreciation for diversity? Provide examples to support your assertion.  Despite of such complications of media regarding diversity, some people have strived to eradicate this notion and to change the mentality of people in regards to cultural diversity. In this regard, there are number of movies composed on the subject of cultural differences which invade the minds of viewers and encourage them to respect cultural diversity and acknowledge the fact that all humans require same amount of love, care and concern. That’s all an individual wants. The most renowned documentary composed on the subject of racial difference is ‘Off and Running’, which was released in 2009. The documentary entails the story of a girl living in a loving household and how she manages with the prejudices she faces because of being a lesbian. 9. How might individuals and the United States work together to reduce prejudice and increase appreciation for diversity?  In any country, individuals have the ability to take initiative for a certain action and they can even convince the government to pass bill or devise policy in order to transform that action into a law. In America, it is now almost impossible to eradicate diversity therefore actions must be taken in order to manage diversity. Individuals can cope up with diversity issues by highlighting the importance and benefits of diversity at elementary level so that this notion gets deep rooted in the minds of upcoming generation. For teenagers, workshops and seminars can be conducted in school and colleges in order to respect people coming from different background and eliminate the notions such as stereotyping, prejudices and discrimination. Media and government also need to play their role in promoting the message of eliminating diversity and encouraging an environment which provides equal rights to every citizen. 10. How might you change your own behaviors to be more inclusive and pluralistic? In order to manage cultural diversity, every individual needs to start it from their own self. As it said, “Change yourself, not the world”. For managing and promoting diversity, I can change my own behavior by treating all of my friends in a similar fashion. I will not only help whites but will also try to assist blacks when they need me. I can also convey same message to my friends by teaching them how to be impartial with everyone. If we learn to value humanity irrespective of creed, color, religion and ethnicity then many problems of our society will eventually vanish away. Apart from teaching my friends, I can also show concern for people and children living in orphan homes, old age homes etc. by providing charity to them irrespective of their creed, color, ethnicity and religion. Just by doing effort at individual level, significant changes can be made for better future. References Nasser, H. E. (2011). Census tracks 20 years of sweeping change. Retrieved from USA Today: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/census/2011-08-10-census-20-years-change_n.htm Sengupta, S. (2010, May 6). Multiculturalism in America. Retrieved from http://www.buzzle.com/articles/multiculturalism-in-america.html Read More