Although living in a multicultural society might bring disadvantages like isolation and racial judgements, the benefits are more powerful resulting in an adapting society where individuals are free to live any culture. When an individual has a culture than the prevailing society they can be affected in either a positive way or a negative way. There have been in many instances were people change their culture due to joining the societies culture and others just use the culture for benefits like in Mukherjee's essay. In other occasions individuals have been exposed to racism due to them being from another culture that does not accommodate to their society. With all these diverse cultures in America individuals should respect every persons culture and look at the bright side not mattering culture.
Individuals tend to adapt to a societies dominant culture because they are the ones in another culture. As time goes by the individual starts to forget about their culture and start to be accustomed to other culture's habits. When people do change cultures it is sometimes because they have many benefits of joining that culture. In Mukherjee's essay, “Two Way to Belong in America” Mukherjee and her sister Mira come to the United States from a wealthy side of India to pursue their goals but Mukherjee ends up adapting to the society and loves it meanwhile Mira hates it and wants the benefits that it comes with, then depart to another culture is not noticeable and before you know it you are doing what others are doing. Mira just wants to become successful and after her retirement she seeks to go back where she was born in India and receive her Indian Citizenship meanwhile she became an American citizen to gain all the American benefits.
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... of them because people immigrate here for a better chance in life. Having a multicultural society brings us many opportunities to get to know others and where they come from. We also get to show others our culture and this can bring a great relationship between friends. There are many people that are now friends with others from another culture and they actually enjoy hanging around with them and sometimes even eating or doing activities from another cultures. People should see that having a multicultural society gives us more positive situations than negative ones. There has been many instances were people from other cultures do amazing things for the United States and if we treat them a bad way they will not try to do good in the society and flee back to their place. With respect to any culture you can meet really good people in the world causing a united world.
Some may say that people can adapt to a new place and completely let go of their culture; thus they are saying that cultural identity does not continually inform the way one views the world. This however, is not accurate. While people can adapt to a new place and adapt to parts of a new places culture, they cannot completely let go of their cultural identity. It will always impact the way one views the world. Take for example Bharati, the author of the personal essay “Two ways to belong in America”. While Bharti's sister Mira chose to hold on to every aspect of their indian heritage; Bharati wanted to feel like she belonged fully in America. When talking about her sister she says “She is happier to live in America as expatriate Indian than as an immigrant American I need to feel like a part of the community I have adopted”(85). Bharati needs to feel like she belongs, and though she may have broadened her culture; her perception of the world and others is still influenced by her indian cultural
Meanwhile, multiculturalism in the United States has been part of their history, considering the fact that almost all its populations, including its founders are immigrants coming from different cultural backgrounds (Citrin, 2001). Due to globalization, there is no reason why other immigrants and new ethnic groups could have difficulty assimilating themselves into American life.
Furthermore, people have the urge to better themselves by becoming educated. In doing so they tend to move from one place of residence to another for a variety of reasons. Such as for greener pastures, a sense of adventure, and in the case of some African nations it is because of frustration, as a result of deliberating economy, and others just want to change their lifestyle. However, people tend to struggle when it comes to being culturally fit. Everyone wants to fit in and look the part when it comes to how we dress, look, act, talk and even walk. Culture defines us and defines who you are as a person. Those characteristics are the way people are perceived when it comes to their culture and personality.
Mark Twain once said, “A round man cannot be expected to fit in a square hole right away. He must have time to modify his shape.” This quote revolves around the idea of conformity. Conformity or collectivism is the tendency to align attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors with those around you. It's a powerful force that can take the form of overt social pressure or subtler unconscious influence. As much as people think of themselves as individuals, the fact is that we're driven to fit in, and that usually means going with the flow. The problem with conformity or collectivism is the loss of individuality.
America is known famously throughout the world with the nickname 'The melting pot.' The reason behind this is that America is extremely diverse and has many different people. Immigrants give America the chance to know the culture of many countries. They bring in their culture, religion, economic benefits, and ideology to America. I believe that the United States should allow legal immigrants from all over the world because they bring many benefits to it. Immigrants are a positive influence on United States of America.
Before I begin contrasting my home culture to the host culture at Friends of Refugees, I must explain some social norms of my culture. As I previously stated, I come from a mostly typical American family and display at least five of the norms presented in Craig Storti’s book, Figuring Foreigners Out, A Practical Guide. One norm discussed is Individualism, where identity is found in oneself (Storti, 1999). I experience individualism through the choices I am presented in daily life and through the expectations of others, particularly my family and school. For example, my parents did expect me to go to college, but they imposed little influence on the major I selected, that decision was mine alone. Apart from college, my parents, like most other
Because so many people decided to start a new life in this country we get to experience many different cultures without having to leave the U.S. Just by traveling to the state of New York a person can immerse themselves in so many rich cultures. This experience would not be possible without the immigrants making their voyage in the late 1800s. The vast amount of immigrants who have come to America over the years have had a positive impact on our economy because of the large amounts of products they purchase from American companies. Many immigrants have come into the United States over the years. It is safe to say that America would not be the place it is today if it was not for immigration. Imagine a country where everyone speaks the same language, eats the same foods, and has the same characteristics and mannerisms for the most part. This is the kind of world many people in other countries live in. Here in America that is certainly not the case. America is known as The Great Melting Pot because of the many ethnic backgrounds represented by all of the people that live here in America. It is hard imagine what America would be like today if immigrants had not decided to make the voyage to America to make it their new home. The countless contributions from immigrants over the years shaped our country into the great nation that it is
Each and every culture is defined by their people. The people make up the part of the whole and cultures function differently for a variety of reasons (Mooji, 2014, p. 81). Internal and external factors on both the macro and micro level play important roles within a society. Countries can be categorized into one of two types of cultures: collectivist or individualistic. These cultures are opposite, each culture possesses descriptive characteristics which include “religion, family structure, … and social class structure” among a number of other characteristics to which the people within the “given societies view as very important, if not critical” (Mooji, 2014, p. 82). Simply stated, Mooji (p. 90) defines people in collectivist cultures as
Immigration keeps America diverse; there is a lot of value in such diversity. It teaches citizens to respect and bond with one another regardless of differences. However, America has a dark history as it pertains to immigration. Our ancestors removed Native Americans when all they wanted was this: "Let me be a free man, free to travel, free to stop, free to work, free to trade where I choose, free to choose my own teachers, free to follow the religion of my fathers, free to talk, think and act for myself- and I will obey every law or submit to the penalty" as Chief Joseph stated in For the Record: An Indian's Perspective, (51-53). Even though there are many great things about being and becoming an American, there are a lot of difficulties for immigrants to face when arriving in the United States. For example you would hope that tension does not just arise randomly between people that have never met before. However, that is the case between the newly immigrated and native born Americans. This is because of ignorance and immigrants being labeled as "outsiders" trying to steal the so called native’s jobs. There are many obstacles taken for granted by non-immigrants. Some current Americans do not truly appreciate the struggles their ancestors had to endure so that they would not have to.
By having so many cultures and different racial groups in the U.S, opportunities and choices increase for everyone. The melting pot helps America to bring more people to this country, people that can help this country to become stronger than already is, to help this country to regain the same power it had before, not just power to be strong in war, but power of knowledge. Cultural pluralism is going bring smart people who can compete around the world representing the U.S that includes athletes, lawyers, teachers, and all these intelligent and strong people. The image that this country is going to have for having a melting pot is has increased and is going to increase much more in the future. Other countries are going to be jealous of America just by knowing that there is a little bit of every race or ethnicity. The impact that the “melting pot” has generated had been so big that not only the Mexicans want to come here, but now everyone around the world wants to come here. Thanks to the Melting pot these people can see that opportunities that they want are here with lots of things surrounding them. By having so many people immigrating to America not only the image of the country is going to increase, but also its economy. Cultural pluralism is bringing all the necessary to make of this place the best place on earth. In the article Ethics, Cultural Competence, and the Changing Face of America Terri Laws explains that “Cultural competence acknowledges strengths in all cultures, and its goal of service improvement focuses on members of four target minority groups: African American, Asian American, Hispanic American and Native American” (176). It seems that all this specific group minorities are growing really fast and that in one future they are going to become the majority, if they do not disappear during that time, because they can disappear if they keep mixing which is good, having
According to Webster’s Dictionary, culture is defined as tradition or a way of life. It is also a defining principle in how we live our life and the type of people we become. The Salish Indians of the Montana and Celie, the main character of the book The Color Purple, are two examples of cultures that made them who they are. Celie is a poor, black, woman growing up in Memphis, Tennessee in the mid-twentieth century. The men have constantly put her down, through beatings and rape, for being a woman with no talent at all. Her husband’s lover comes to town and gives Celie a chance to see a culture where a woman can stand up for herself and teaches her that love is possible. The Salish on the other hand have a culture that has gone on through the ages and still is a part of each person today despite the obstacles they have had to face. Culture does shape us because from birth it is what tells us our ideals, laws, and morals that we live by each day.
At some point in our lives we experience a culture as an outsider by moving from one culture to another.In the world today there are so many different cultures and not one of them is found to be the same.Instead they all have something that makes them unique, whether its language or even the clothes they wear and their behavior as well.The differences they have is what separates them from one another and who ever joins that particular culture must get accustomed to their way of life.In the society today we have many people immigrating to the United States to start a new and better life but what they soon begin to realize is that it’s a whole new world out there and in order to survive they have to get accustomed to the new way of life which is much different from their lives before.
Anthropologists define the term culture in a variety of ways, but there are certain shared features of the definition that virtually all anthropologists agree on. Culture is a shared, socially transmitted knowledge and behavior. The key features of this definition of culture are as follows. 1) Culture is shared among the members of that particular society or group. Thus, people share a common cultural identity, meaning that they recognize themselves and their culture's traditions as distinct from other people and other traditions. 2) Culture is socially transmitted from others while growing up in a certain environment, group, or society. The transmission of cultural knowledge to the next generation by means of social learning is referred to as enculturation or socialization. 3) Culture profoundly affects the knowledge, actions, and feelings of the people in that particular society or group. This concept is often referred to as cultural knowledge that leads to behavior that is meaningful to others and adaptive to the natural and social environment of that particular culture.
Living in another country is always accompanied by change. It would illogical to deny the fact that living in another country-in another language and culture, principally leads to personal development. The different aspects of personality suspend and one takes on the mannerisms, qualities and opinions that define the people in a foreign country (Kohls 9). Nothing is wrong with the change. In the first place, it is a major reason why the individual moved to the new country-they wanted to evolve by putting...
Without delving into deep sociological theories of the nature of society, we can consider human societies as any community of individuals who are united together by a common bond of nearness or intercourse and are those who recognize each other as associates, friends and acquaintances. Individuals who play certain roles and the relationships between each role form the society itself. The complexity of society makes it difficult for us to identify our relationships. Generally, societies form different norms and cultures and these norms and cultures will change. Despite the changes in ones society and culture, members of any society like happiness in their own ways. In complex societies, it is valid to question about our contributions to happiness of its members. While material contributions to societies meet the physical needs, mental problems and needs are more difficult to satisfy. This is the point where society and culture become intertwined.