Multiculturalism Essay, Research Paper
Multiculturalism
Our country was founded on the belief in freedom. This freedom was meant for everyone. When our country was founded, many different cultures existed on our land. We abused other cultures because we did not understand them. The United States today is much different. We are a melting pot of cultures. Although our country was founded predominately by Caucasian males, our country today is run by black, white, men and women of all sorts of different ethnic backgrounds. This is why our country can be run so effectively. We understand many different cultures simply because we live with them everyday. Some argue that we need to keep people from being able to come into our country because they are not Americans. However, Americans are not defined by common race or ethnicity, but defined as a set of people who believe they are free and want to have a say in their government. Since someone from any culture can be American, multiculturalism has not exceeded the purpose for which it was intended. In our constitution it states that “all men are created equal,” our nation was built by more than one culture, and the intentions of the idea of multiculturalism are to make the world totally free of any type of bigotry or racism.
The constitution stating that all men are created equal explains the general idea of multiculturalism. Every person has the opportunity to do whatever he or she wants with themselves. The individual has the same rights as any other person in our country. Every persons rights and beliefs are also protected by the United States and each person can express theirself or advertise their culture.
Our nation was built by more than one culture and is made up of many now. Our forefathers did not have exactly the same background and were not necessarily from the same culture. Today our country is made of hundreds of different cultures that strive for their goals. The goal of multiculturalism is to get them to strive for their goals along side with each other. Without the number of different cultures that we have today, our country would not be able to understand international relations as well. For example, if our country did not understand the cultures of the middle East, we could be in trouble. Our relations are great with so many countries and other cultures because as a country, we strongly believe in the idea of multiculturalism.
The intentions of the idea of multiculturalism are to make the world totally free of any type of bigotry or racism. If the world could become totally multi-cultural, there would be no war, famine, or poverty. Cultures would help each other out and respect each other’s needs. The Middle East would integrate and this would help the world relations in the area drastically. The fighting that goes on today is usually because of a country’s beliefs or property. A country’s beliefs are based on its culture. If people continue to kill each other because of beliefs then cultures will totally be wiped out as Hitler and some other leaders have tried to do.
Some people feel that because of multiculturalism they can not display their nationality. They say they feel threatened by neighboring cultures or their communities. In some suburbs of Miami, Florida there have actually been court cases over whether a person should be able to hang an American flag in their own front yard if there is a high population of Haitians in the area. This feeling is eliminated by our constitution. Our first amendment states that people have the right to express themselves in anyway that suits them best. Our country will stand up against any foe who does not respect our culture because we surely protect as well as respect theirs. People are free to hang any flag that they want in our country and that is how multicultural we are.
Some people argue that it is not right to implement bilingual education. They argue that anyone who enters this country should have to speak our language. They believe it is detrimental to the rest of us if bilingual education is allowed.
Bilingual education has helped other countries substantially. Countries such as Germany or Switzerland learn many languages and it gives them a better understanding of the world. Their intellectual abilities are often increased with the bilingual education. People need to see that an educated person can be a great deal of help no matter what language he speaks. Also, advocates of bilingual education don’t advocate giving up on English. Students in a Spanish speaking school would also learn English.
Multiculturalism has not exceeded the purpose for which it was intended. Multiculturalism can never truly exceed its own limit because cultures can always increase their knowledge out there to be learned. Someday maybe all cultures will strive together for the pursuit of happiness or they will end life as we know it because of bigotry or racism. Fighting is insignificant compared to the destruction of the world. Until cultures can peacefully coexist and help each other we will continue on a downward spiral where no culture wants to be.