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Cultural Diversity in the Today's America Yuma N. Vuono ETH 125 Cultural Diversity January 13, 2012 Tamira M. Moon, MPH, CHES Axia College of University of Phoenix

2 Cultural Diversity in the Today's America America was founded on the basis of equality and freedom for all immigrants far and wide, creating a diverse synthesis of race, ethnicity, religion, and culture. The history of immigration in the United States involves different groups of Europeans and their descendants as well as diverse groups of Native American Indians, Hispanics, Africans, and Asians. These culturally diverse groups play significant roles in the ongoing development of contemporary culture while reshaping our nation's future. The continually broadening spectrum of ethnic groups in the United States also presents complex challenges and struggles for all nationalities ranging from discrimination and adaptation to integration. An immigrant to this country, I always have been drawn to the diverse cultures in my community. My experiences with many cultures and races showed me how very similar we all are even with all of our differences. Experiencing new languages, foods, and traditions only helped to enrich our families culture. I was fortunate to arrive in America at the young age of 7 during a time of growth in this country. The mid 1970s in the United states during the hippie era, blurred the line between the races and changed the views of many conservative Americans. Assimilation came easy to me because my American father introduced us to new cultures, while my Vietnamese mother helped us retain our Asian culture. I am proud to say I speak fluent Vietnamese, Spanish, as well as English. Many of our family's traditions today have several cultures intertwined that I can't remember how they were ever different in the past. The population in the United States has more than doubled from 1950, 152.3 million, to over 308 million today, making America the fastest growing cultural hub in the world. This current population growth trend began with the initiation of the Immigration Act of 1965 from the massive immigration of both legal and illegal immigrants entering the United States over the

3 past forty years. Accounting for nearly 4.5% of the world's population, America is the third largest, fastest growing, consisting of infinitely more diverse cultures than any other country throughout the world (Heisler & Shrestha, 2011). The constant human quest for economic opportunities in recent decades has increased the flow of economic refugees to the United States putting an enormous strain on America's public institutions and social services. Furthermore, the political turmoil in existence globally increases the flow of political refugees seeking asylum and sanctuary. Refugees from the Vietnam (Military Action) War, my family and I have first-hand experience of the discriminations and prejudices held by Americans toward foreigners when we first immigrated to the United States in 1975 following the fall of Saigon. Naturally, native-born citizens exhibit mass opposition against new immigrants, fearing these immigrants present competition in the workforce and a threat to their families and livelihood. The United States population is expected to reach nearly 450 million by 2050, if Congress makes no major changes to the current immigration laws and enforcement. What Congress decides to do about our current illegal immigration issues may change that number significantly. The prospect of overpopulation and the potential strain on the economy calls for a national policy to slow population growth through limiting immigration (Martin & Fogel, 2006). Current proposals in Congress regarding amnesty for illegal immigrants, guest worker programs, and increase immigration would increase the projected population an additional 40 million, which could be financially catastrophic for the United States in the coming decades. In order to account for long-term carrying capacity, the United States Congress must adopt effective measures of illegal immigration deterrents and reduce legal immigration limits and categories to stabilize the population. Minority groups are expected to account for nearly 49% of the nation's population by 2050 due in part to the higher immigration rates among Asians and Hispanics. Furthermore, the

4 non-Hispanic Whites population will slightly decline even with the burgeoning elderly population because of healthier lifestyles and improved health care services available. Hispanics are expected to increase by 188% and account for nearly one-quarter of the nation's population although, The United States Census Bureau believes many Hispanics born in America claim Whites on census surveys. Asians, however, are expected to triple to over 33 million by 2050. Historically, America has been a "Black and Whites" country with Blacks accounting for nearly 13% of the current population. By 2050, the Black population will increase roughly 15%, making them the second largest minority group in America. Racial diversity in the United States poses very interesting challenges to the nation's existing financial and social services institutions ultimately having a profound effect on education, health care, Social Security, and natural resources. We are often reminded of looming problems such as fuel reserves, fresh water resources, unhealthy air quality as well as traffic congestion and diminishing wetlands through the media, many of us do not take seriously. The unfortunate reality is that America will not be able to accommodate its potential growing number of citizens and the increasing elderly population soon to be in need of more health and financial services when the time comes. This "graying" of America will definitely have a significant impact on the nation's economy as we deal with the onslaught of immigration issues. As the faces of America changes over the next few decades, how our nation prepares for the level of diversity and achieves greater degrees of equality for these minority groups remains to be seen. American or Western culture is a fusion of unique and rich cultural heritage from all over the world. It is important that the contributions from each culture be maintained and valued because they broaden our understanding, view, and acceptance of different racial, ethnic, and cultural groups in this great "melting pot" we call America. Promoting awareness and

5 appreciation of diverse culture, class, religion, and other racial and ethnic distinctions offers a rich variety of perspectives on how we view ourselves individually and together, as a nation. As the American population gets bigger, older, and more diverse, the nation must focus on how these demographic changes will eventually effect our citizens and our nation's economy. To foster a climate of acceptance and cultural pluralism in this critical time, we must remember that to live a long, healthy, and serene life, we need a social network of support from people from different walks of life. In order to live well among others, we need to re-discover the act of civility which is the civil exchange of ideas among diverse groups. Civility among America's citizens holds the solutions to our nation's most pressing problems. Every American citizen should take the civil pledge and be willing to be civil in public discourse and behavior, be respectful of others whether we or not we agree with them, and stand against incivility in our communities. Raising public consciousness to provoke personal experience and interaction can be the best teachers. Stereotyping and prejudices are as old as mankind, and most likely be around forever in some form or another. How the media perpetuated stereotyping and prejudices in the past has been extremely controversial throughout American History. Many minorities are portrayed as lower class citizens in mass media which provokes negative responses to those minorities. Blacks and Hispanics are considered gang members and criminals or Asians as academically smart from shows and movies sparking fear, jealously, and may lead to outright discrimination and retaliation toward those minority groups. Today's media has changed its view on diverse minorities and effectively helped to shed new light on the expectations of different races and ethnicities. Positive media influence on Blacks, Hispanics, Asians, and more recently Middle Easterners can only bring positive reactions and support for these minority groups. As the

6 diversity in America shifts from non-Hispanic Whites to a plethora of races and ethnicities, more minorities working in mass media can monitor how their race or culture is portrayed. Until every American citizen accepts that this country is a "melting pot" and we all must work together to live together, we may never overcome prejudice and discrimination. Promoting awareness, experience, and education are key to a harmonious existence among the citizens of the United States. "United we stand, divided we fall!"

References Heisler, E. J., & Shrestha, L. B. (2011, March). The Changing Demographic Profile of the United States. Congressional Research Service, (7-7500), 1-32. Retrieved December 28, 2012 from http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL32701.pdf Macionis, J. J. (2012). Social problems (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. Martin, J., & Fogel, S. (2006, March). Projecting the U.S. Population to 2050: Four Immigration Scenarios. Federation for American Immigration Reform. Retrieved January 5, 2012 from http://www.fairus.org/site/DocServer/pop_projections.pdf Schaefer, R. T. (2012). Racial and ethnic groups (13th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.

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