Good Research Paper About Multiculturalism In The United States

Following the American Psychological Association’s Guidelines

Mark Ostendorp and Linda Lombard
Abstract
This study examines the concept of multiculturalism, which became very frequently used nowadays. Multicultural communities are present in almost all highly populated countries, and can be divided into religious, racial, linguistic and ethnic groups. These groups have been forming throughout the human history, and thus are very important when a certain country is being studied. Specifically, this paper is going to look into the ways in which multiculturalism affects and changes the societies where it is present. It is known that the United States is a multicultural community, and when its social life is being studied, it is important to keep in mind the diversity of the country. All the races and religious groups can be found within the U.S. American sociologists proved that in the United Stated, multiculturalism has both advantages and drawbacks, and the latter is not always easy to fight against. Multiculturalism clearly makes the United States a diverse country where everyone is able to find their soul mates. Simultaneously, it causes serious racial and religious tension in America.
Nowadays, multiculturalism is an important term that has to be mentioned when one talks about living in the United States. This word is now closely related to our country and its way of living. There are many advantages of multiculturalism that is present in our country, but, of course, there is a huge number of drawbacks. This paper examines multiculturalism in the United States and the issues that are attached to it. It will explain how social inequality is faced by the minorities, and the way the government behaves in this situation.
In America, multiculturalism has emerged as an ideological resolution for balancing cultures and diversity within the United States. According to ifla.org, multiculturalism is “the co-existence of diverse cultures, where culture includes racial, religious, or cultural groups and is manifested in customary behaviors, cultural assumptions and values, patterns of thinking, and communicative styles” (Defining “Multiculturalism”, 2013.) The term “multiculturalism” refers to a number of cultures that coexist within another culture independently or in a close connection. Thus, culturally diverse countries are the countries that have a great number of immigrants who form groups. For example, Canada is a country that includes Canadians, the French, Americans, Ukrainians, Chinese, etc. The United States is one of the biggest multicultural communities as well. In big cities like New York or Chicago, there are different neighborhoods that are occupied by certain cultures. To get more comfortable and to make the lives of the elderly (who often cannot learn another language) easier, people form ethnic neighborhoods (e.g. Chinatown and Polish neighborhood in Chicago.)
This variety doesn’t end with nationalities. It spreads into religious groups (Muslim and Jewish communities), linguistic groups and races. These groups are not always formed abroad; in China, there are over fifty ethic groups who unite within the country. They speak one language, but they identify themselves differently. A common disrespect towards national and/or ethnic identities, which occurs when one travels abroad, can cause troubles. Pakistani and Indians both hold Indian passports, although Pakistani do not consider themselves Indians. You could insult a Catalan by calling him Spanish (although Catalonia is still officially a part of Spain.) The same goes for religion. In India, China and Russia, there are a lot of different religions that can get offended if taken one for another.
Multiculturalism became an important part of every big city. According to the International Journal on Multicultural Societies (IJMS), many countries are proud to be called multicultural: “Politicians and even monarchs would say “we now live in a multicultural society” and cities would boast that they were now multicultural or, sometimes, cosmopolitan” (De Guchteneire, 2003.) This is because multiculturalism encourages communication between different groups of people within a country. People that never get to travel to China are able to get acquainted with the culture if they go to Chinatown. In Chinatown, many national celebrations are being held, including the Chinese New Year, where Americans (and other ethnic groups) can admire another culture’s traditions. This, of course, is much better than taking the information from the books or the Internet.
People also get to learn languages from the native speakers, which is always better and can prepare one for going to a certain country. It can also help one learn the language of his ancestors, as many Americans are proud of their European and Asian descents and are willing to know the language of their grandparents. This will become easier if an Asian American has access to the ethnic neighborhood, where he can find some wonderful sources for learning without leaving the country.
Political ideologies include three major wings: liberal (left), conservative (right), and centrist (middle.) Political ideologies are “belief systems that provide people with a perspective on the proper role of elected officials, which types of public policies should be prioritized, and how the various elements of society should be arranged” (Political Ideology, 2015.) All these ideologies have different approaches to the question of multiculturalism. While the conservatives go with high morals, religious beliefs and traditional way of doing things, the liberals find all the rapid changes healthy for the society. The liberals are the ones who are concerned with the issue of inequality, and they struggle for all the social and ethnic groups to be equally paid if performing the same work, to receive equal (and affordable) medical care and to be protected by the government.
Unfortunately, there is a long way ahead of the liberals. There is still a belief that the minorities are less educated and economically stable. By diving a city into neighborhoods, the government fails to take care of each of them equally. Some neighborhoods are closer to the center, and the people are able to have more access to social institutions. People also form neighborhoods according to their wealth. Thus, it turns out that there is always a “good” neighborhood (which is usually unaffordable), a “bad” neighborhood (which is far from the city center and has a high crime level), and a neighborhood that “you’d-better-avoid-at-night” (somewhere in the middle.) This forms social injustice and encourages racism, as it is thought to believe that the “bad” neighborhoods are those where the minorities live. In Chicago, the most dangerous place is considered to be Englewood, an African-American ghetto. In Los-Angeles, it is a Mexican ghetto on the edge of the city. In order to avoid solving their problems and save money, the government cuts these people off from the main part of the city. It explains it with the “high crime level”; however, it does nothing to prevent those people from dying. They get no official protection, no jobs and no appropriate medical care (they are financially excluded.) As a result, they try to earn money by participating in drug business, where they get killed at a very young age. According to Chicago Tribune, the highest death rate is among African-American males between 20 and 25 years old.
It becomes clear that there are many social issues that the minorities face. There is no social justice in big cities whatsoever, and the government is not even moving towards changing it. As I said, the main issue is poverty. According to Ehow.com, “these situations may come from long-term unemployment, lack of job openings in an area, lack of medical or dental insurance or receiving low wages that do not reflect the current cost of living” (Martin, 2013.) Poverty is caused by the absence of jobs, which is caused by the absence of an Associate degree at least. The minorities are often not able to afford college and have no chance to take governmental loans. When they apply for scholarships, priority is still given to the white students who come from wealthy families and “good” neighborhoods. This ultimately means that race (or, better to say, prejudices against this race) dictates behavior, and if one is a minority, he is expected to behave in a certain (usually negative) way.
However, there are some strategies that help ease social inequality. Nowadays in many colleges there is an office of multicultural affairs, which usually includes several student organizations. These communities are divided into Asian, Black, Hispanic and International student organizations. People who run them encourage every culture to show its real face and ruin the stereotypes. However, I somewhat disagree with this policy as I do think that sometimes it is over the top, and students need to be mixed rather than divided into the groups based on their races or religious beliefs. They need to learn to be tolerant to each other, and it can only be learned if they communicate. By dividing them into separate groups in order “not to let them feel lonely,” racism is encouraged. It looks very much like the example that I gave earlier about “good” and “bad” neighborhoods.
As I already said, the minorities are often financially excluded, which means they have no access to education, jobs and medical care. What is financial inclusion? According to Moneyandbanking.com, “for many central banks, like the ECB or the Bank of England, this means price stability. For others, like the Federal Reserve, it means a combination of high employment and low inflation” (Monetary Policy and Financial Inclusion, 2015.) In the United States, the liberals are struggling for financial inclusion that would mean affordable living and medical care. It is known that medical care is a large issue for our country, and people get homeless because of inability to pay their medical bills. The liberals are going for changing that. They also try to organize more workspace for the people who are in a desperate need of jobs. Giving jobs to students would also help reduce their loans and cover their monthly expenses.
In this paper, I have discussed multiculturalism in America and the way it influences our lives. I have found a great advantage, which is diversity and ability to get closer to distant cultures. But there are many disadvantages, such as financial exclusion of the minorities, racism, poverty and high death rate. The liberals are fighting all these issues, but they do have a lot of work to do to achieve their goal. America is on its way of tolerating all groups of people regarding their skin color and religious beliefs. And we, the new generation, are able to help this transition happen sooner and easier.

References

Political Ideology. (n.d.). Retrieved January 6, 2016, from http://saylor.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/POLSC2312.1.4.pdf
Martin, V. (n.d.). List of Social Justice Issues Facing Social Workers. Retrieved January 6, 2016, from http://www.ehow.com/info_8551272_list-issues-facing-social-workers.html
Monetary policy and financial inclusion. (n.d.). Retrieved January 6, 2016, from http://www.moneyandbanking.com/commentary/2015/6/22/monetary-policy-and-financial-inclusion
De Guchteneire, P. (n.d.). Multiculturalism and Political Integration in Modern Nation-States. International Journal on Multicultural Societies (IJMS), 5(1). Retrieved from http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0013/001387/138796E.pdf
The Debate Over Multiculturalism: Philosophy, Politics, and Policy. (2011, September 22). Retrieved January 6, 2016, from http://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/debate-over-multiculturalism-philosophy-politics-and-policy
Chicago Tribune. (n.d.). Retrieved January 6, 2016, from http://www.chicagotribune.com/
Defining "Multiculturalism" (n.d.). Retrieved January 6, 2016, from http://www.ifla.org/publications/defining-multiculturalism