Because of America’s history. If we didn’t have unequal treatment we would not have to deal with things such as Affirmative Action. It is a shame that A.A. has to be enforced. It is also a shame that we down a minority because of his or her ethnicity, and say that he or she is not capable of what everyone else is. Therefore it is only fair and good that we have Affirmative Action because of past issues denying someone of something because they’re a different nationality.
This was the land they were born on. This was their home. Being American might mean being so self-centered to put our so-called “discoveries” before trying to even reach an understanding of life that was already thriving in this land. But no, if anybody isn’t white, they might as well be called savages. According to the people that pillaged and plundered all the land that wasn’t theirs, practiced slavery, denied equal rights to women, and discriminated everybody that looked different in every way
Today the white American image still exists. This image creates a problem for cultural unity. People of different race, religion, culture, and backgrounds have problems identifying with each other. People only interact with people of their own race. People also tend to live with people of their own culture.
America a Country, Not a Race In the essay “The American Character” by Morris Berman, being referred to as “Americans”, rather than their own cultures or race, is targeting the citizens of the United States. Although America is considered a multicultural country, just like other countries, thus causing the people to feel singled out. Now of days, it is more common to come across multicultural countries, rather than back in the day. America is made up of numerous cultures and races, such as: blacks, Hispanics, and Asians. The people of America “…are not an arbitrary conglomerate united by nothing more than geography or location; rather, they possess “distinctive traits and social adaptations which characterize them as a group” (Brundage, Dave,
Many people wonder what it takes to be an American, while, that is probably not a simple question to answer. In the eye of law, American is who holds a citizenship of the United States. Government also set up political standards for immigrations to obtain citizenship. Basic knowledge of American history and government is expected, followed by the language requirements. But being an American doesn’t mean only to live within the boundaries of the United States or simply holding a U.S. citizenship.
Race is often described as ethnic groups often leading to discrepancies between scientific views on race and popular usage of the term. The problem with race is that it does not have a concrete definition it will change from one person’s view to another, because of this reason we can define race as a social construct. Race clearly affects one’s life chances. There are the chances of getting
Every culture is different in their own way, which is where many people today fail to understand. Discussing different cultures with people of another country can help give you an idea of how different your own country is from another. Talking to someone from another country enables one to have more respect for that person, because you are able to
These initial perceptions have been spread wide all over the country and even throughout the world. Stereotyping is overly-defined as the negative prejudicial labeling of one’s ethnicity, race, or religion. But on the far end, the scope of stereotyping as a human act can sometimes be misleading. For example, labeling a person or a group of people without a substantial basis to such a degree where it could actually boost the morale or esteem of that person or group is still stereotyping. A cliché yet concrete example could be; males are better in math than the females.
Immigration and America’s core culture If one spontaneously were to mention a couple of prominent American figures in the 21st century, names such as Oprah Winfrey, George W. Bush, Jennifer Lopez, Steven Spielberg and the recently elected president Barack Hussein Obama, would usually come to mind. They do all have different religious backgrounds, ethnicities and to some extent culture, but to identify one of them as being “more American” than the others would occur as being weird for most people. Because it’s indeed the high degree of diversity, seen in iconic, grand cities such as New York or Los Angeles, that is representative of the American people today, and therefore the country has become to be known as a nation of immigrants. However, in his book, who are we? (2004), Samuel P. Huntington, argues that this high level of cultural diversity prevalent in the USA can disintegrate the country, as it’s experiencing a growing cultural gap between the adherents of the Anglo-protestant culture and the immigrants, who have not yet assimilated into this culture.
This is becoming a problem across America, it is showing immigrants and foreigners that it is alright to speak their own language and not worrying about learning English. When entering a foreign country, it is often hard to understand one word said due to the fact that they most likely speak another language, and often there are not signs in English. Therefore it makes sense to learn that country’s language to get by and survive there, depending on how long the stay is. With making English our national language, it would make all foreigners realize that they should not be lazy, and actually try to learn some or a lot of the English language. Foreigners who enter America’s borders do not know much or any English at all.