Differences among the Americans regarding Ethnicity, Religion, Sexual Orientation, and Languages - Term Paper Example

? Running Head: DIVERSITY IN AMERICAN SOCIETY Introduction Several issues affect the diversity of the American society, and these are mostly social and cultural factors. The United States of America is one of the most culturally and socially diverse society in the world. This country is made up of diverse cultures as people from all over the world have immigrated and settled in its various states. According to Crawford (2012), the United States consist mainly of Mexican Americans, Native Americans, Asian Americans and African Americans, who came together to create the beautiful and wonderful country. The Americans take pleasure in their diversity positively and they share similar dreams, which is to build a strong political and economic platform. The founding fathers of this nation build a society that appreciates diversity and celebrates the cultural differences among the people of the United States of America. English only can feature as a social movement within the United States that has an aim of promoting the use of English language in the country. It has an agenda of making English the only language for use in official government actions; hence making it the only official language in the United States of America. According to Crawford (2012), this movement reasoned out that English language has always been the common language to Americans, and so it should be supportive in resolution of conflicts among people of different races or ethnic backgrounds. The movement perceived English language as a unifying factor for all Americans regardless of their race, ethnicity or religion. According to principles of English only, use the language as an important tool for social mobility and improvement of racial relations and social development. Edelsky (2006) says that by adopting postulates of this movement, advocates were encouraging immigrants to use English, and they were sending a message to the government warning them against adopting policies that could interfere with integration of the English language. However, some people were of negative opinion on the formation of the English Only movement. Just like any other movement in the United States, this one also faced opposition from people voicing their anger at the motive behind its formation. According to Naylor (1999), the minorities argued that this was a mean attempt to coerce Anglo-conformity to the people. They saw it as a way of ending the offering of certain services in other languages. There were claims that such an act would be a danger to civil rights and educational opportunities. It was seen as a threat to the wellbeing of minorities in the country, since their cultures would suffer because of coerced conformity to foreign culture. Naylor (1999) says that Mexican Americans, African Americans, Indian Americans and Puerto Ricans would all experience difficulties in this provision. From all these factors discussed above, we can deduce that this movement was a mechanism introduced to propagate racism and nativity in the US. Issues Confronting Native Americans Today Native Americans are the aboriginals of the United States or the indigenous people of this country. These Native Americans have a number of issues that affect them up to today. According to Crawford (2012), some of the issues they face today include lack of proper education, poverty, poor working conditions, and social challenges, lack of proper housing and health problems among other concerns. All these are problems that are currently facing the Native Americans in the United States of America. At the top of the list, we can say that lack of proper education and poverty are major issues affecting these Native Americans. According to Crawford (2012), relevant statistics shows that around 19.6% of Native citizens have not attained high school levels. About 10% are American Indians outside the reservations and another 10% more for those in reservations. The percentage of those with university degrees is also minimal at a range of 8-13% of the total population. This lack of formal education leads to certain social problems such as lack of employment, drug abuse, and poverty. In addition, it also encourages people to join criminal gangs. Crawford (2012) adds that other social problems facing these natives include the high level of school drop outs, high rate of cases of teenage suicide and pregnancy, and a higher rate of child mortality. Homosexuality Homosexuality is the sexual attraction between people of same sex. The scientific knowledge about homosexuality is that a person’s sexual orientation is not something that happens by choice, but rather it is due to certain biological factors. According to Bruce (2009), most people hold the notion that homosexuality is unnatural or dysfunctional. However, several researches have brought out that it is just a normal difference in human sexuality. In contemporary societies, there is a substantial degree of discrimination towards homosexual humans. As an extrapolation on this vice, homosexuality traits have been seen to exist among certain animals in the society. This sexual behavior among animals of similar sexual orientation takes different forms among these animals. According to Bruce (2009), the study of homosexual behavior among animals can be used either for or against homosexuality among humans. People all over the world have different opinions on this subject of homosexuality. It has been widely claimed that this act is unnatural and a sin. However, others have come to the defense of homosexuals by saying that if indeed it occurs in animals, then it is a natural course. According to Bruce (2009), the gay people have over the years fought for rights of recognition, and this has paid off as most states have laws that recognize gays and lesbians. Consequently, these states have accorded those rights such as rights to marriage, adoption rights, military service and equal access to health care and all other government facilities. Diversity and Pluralism Diversity refers to the state of being different while pluralism is a word used in many ways in several topics, and it shows the difference in views or perspectives. According to Edelsky (2006), diversity means acceptance and respect that each individual is different from one another. Diversity is applied mostly along races, ethnic differences and difference in sexual orientation. Pluralism involves a situation where several different ethnic or cultural groups are accepted and appreciated in the society. It is very logical to promote pluralism in a diverse society. Pluralism does not entail diversity alone; it entails energetic association with diversity. It is also not about tolerance, but it involves the process of looking for understanding among the difference in the society. According to Edelsky (2006), pluralism does not involve relativism, but rather it involves commitment. It is mostly based on dialogue in that it allows for analysis of the society through dialogue. Conclusion From the topics discussed above, we find out that the study and understanding of human diversity is a complex field in academic and research. There are several differences among the people ranging from ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, languages among others. Naylor (1999) agrees that diversity proves beneficial in that it brings about appreciation and acceptance among the differences. It encourages us to coexist together in harmony despite notable differences in race, religion or sexual orientation. Reference List Bruce, B. (2009). Biological Exuberance: Homosexuality and Natural Diversity. New York: St Martin’s Press. Crawford, J. (2012). Language Loyalties: A source book on the official English controversy. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Edelsky, C. (2006). Writing a bilingual program; Haba una vez. Norwood, NJ: Ablex Publishing. Naylor, L. (1999). Problems and Issues of Diversity in the United States. Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group. Read More