Cultural Diversity in the United States, Essay Example

The United States is full of myriad individuals that all comes from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds.  For this reason, the United States is commonly referred to as a cultural melting pot where peoples of all backgrounds can come to experience the same freedoms awarded to our citizens.  In this diverse “multi-nation”, people have to understand the importance of what is meant by word “Culture”.  Cultural identity is a difficult term to understand because it can be very complex.  Millions of Americans struggle with adjusting multiple cultures both past and present to effectively define their own cultural identity.  Still, cultural diversity in the United States effects many people and businesses every day.  In order for the country to continue to adjust with the growing diversity, cultural identity and its impact on everyday life must clearly be analyzed and defined.

Each individual has a different culture in which he or she comes from.  Culture is often referred to as the geographical place in which a person lives.  The word “culture” itself means so many things in terms of where one is from and the rituals and normal behaviors that are associated with the people in that area.  For instance, culture refers to an individual’s religion and their beliefs on what behaviors are socially acceptable.  Culture can also involve holidays, simple salutations, slang, food, forms of entertainment and so much more.  All of these factors combine to describe the culture in which people live.  For example, in China the families are very close to each other, and they incorporate extended family values.  The Chinese people keep close relationships with each other and have family gatherings and meetings almost on a daily basis.  On the other hand, in United States people seem to live far away from each other and they are more independent from their families.  Furthermore, culture also refers to different languages that are spoken within a geographical area.  Each country has its own primary language that is spoken among the citizens.  The way one speaks is a part of one’s unique culture.  All of these languages are meaningful to each culture.  In other words, culture sets the rules and behaviors for people to follow in the society in which they live in today.

Moreover, the article “The Myth of the Latin Woman” written by Judith Oritiz Cofer, discusses about the misconception that people had with the “Latina” culture.  Cofer uses an analogy in her article to further solidify her argument.  She described “the Hispanic woman as the ‘hot tamale’ or sexual firebrand.  It is a one dimensional view that the media have found easy to promote” (Cofer #).  Cofer uses this analogy to demonstrate to her readers that the manner in which Hispanic women dress is often misinterpreted by the media and even sometimes viewed as rude or inappropriate.  In other words, “hot tamale” indirectly refers to how a woman is being stereotyped as a sex object because of how she dresses in the “Latina” culture.  However, Latinas in the United States are not intentionally trying to become a sexual object; they are simply dressing according to the cultural lifestyle that they have grown up with their entire lives.  In this situation, many Latinas face what is called “cultural schizophrenia” because they are caught in the midway between the American culture and the Hispanic culture.  Each culture has its acceptable and unacceptable behaviors and Latinos are supposed to appease both living in the United States, which can be a very difficult task to achieve.  It is impossible to please everyone and it makes cultural diversity a very complex issue for Latinos.

Similarly, with culture comes national identity.  In the article “American Dreamer” written by Bharati Mukherjee, she discusses the importance of not labeling people’s beliefs and identities based upon how an individual may look and act.  In her article, she states that “I am a voluntary immigrant.  I became a citizen by choice, not by simple accident of birth” (Mukherjee #).  Mukherjee makes it clear that her identity is an American citizen.  The author made a conscious choice to become a citizen and chose her identity in the United States.  She is very serious about her decision and she implies that one must stand up for his or her decisions in order to be identified in this diverse society.  On the other hand, the above quote suggests that many people are born into their identity and conform to the cultural norms that they grow up with and learn to be acceptable.  She wants to be associated and makes her identity known by becoming a United States citizen.

Furthermore, in America, there seems to be more of an emphasis on cultural diversity with a simplistic act of including other languages in common everyday activities.  In the article, “The Multinational Society, written by Ishmanel Reed, he discusses that the United States has influenced many different cultures.  For example, he states that “Mexican Americans thought a foundation recently issued a report critical of bilingual education, the taped voice used to guide the passengers on the air trams connecting terminals in Dallas Airport is in both Spanish and English” (Reed #).  In this quotation, the author explains that even Spanish is not the official language, but due to the increasing number of Spanish-speaking travelers, Spanish is also included as a part of the tape recording.  As a result, this quote truly indicates Spanish has already become a secondary language in the United States.  Therefore, the diversity of culture in the United States continues to grow due to an ever-changing population within this country.  Businesses and public services are forced to adapt to this changing cultural diversity, which is clearly shown from examples like the Airport in Dallas.

In my life, I am able to see cultural diversity from the great emergence of Chinese persons that live in major cities such as San Francisco, New York, and Los Angeles.  Chinese-Americans have also developed a cultural schizophrenia effect and many of them, from my own experience, attempt to hold on to their Chinese heritage.  Many of my Chinese friends come from families where the parents almost consider it a sin to become “too American” or stray too far off from the Chinese cultural norms.