Diversity in the United States
Rick Dashnaw
ETH/125
08/19/12
Beverly Sessoms

Diversity in the United States
This paper will discuss the different aspects of cultural and racial diversity in the United States. This assignment will include the effects of the media, and the effects of immigration on diversity. I will be discussing the possible ways to work towards a post-racism society nationwide.
To get a better understanding of why people immigrate to the United States, we have to think about where they came from and why they decided to come here. This has helped me understand these questions, and have a different view towards immigration and diversity. I can understand that the circumstances and living conditions that these people have had to live with drove them out and to the United States for the freedoms and way of life. We cannot blame the immigrants for coming here because if the shoe was on the other foot it would have been us coming here to get away, and into the freedoms and liberty of the United States.
As I am part of the white race in America, I have learned that my race is the most prevalent race in the United States, and always has been. Today, the children are much more diverse. If we look at it from an older to younger standpoint, “Older Americans are whiter. Younger Americans are more non-white.” (Claiborne, 2011). So we can look forward to a more diverse future with the next generations to grow up being very diverse. The white race may be outnumbered one day with the Latinos having the highest birthrate these days. It is not surprising to me to see the numbers of different races growing in our nation because of the immigration rates. As time goes on we will see many other races besides whites to come up in numbers, and immigration will continue to flow into our country.
Our population in the year 2050 is still a mystery as of right now. This depends a lot on what happens in the decisions made by Congress with the immigration laws. If the laws stay the same and Congress dodges making important decisions, we will continue to build the illegal immigrant numbers. If they make decisions that limit the legal immigration numbers and tighten up on the illegal immigrants, we will have a smaller number of immigrants. It could really go either way; it all depends on what we do as a nation to protect our borders. “Depending on what Congress decides to do about immigration — curtail it, expand it — the United States is facing a future population just 45 years away that could vary by more than 135 million residents.” (Martin, 2011). We can see now that this number will largely depend on the decisions Congress makes today.
There are a few challenges that we would face if the country increases its population. We could become over-populated, causing nationwide poverty levels to soar. The middle class shrinks as the upper class and lower class increases. Americans will lose jobs that would normally feed and take care of their families to foreign workers that are willing to work for lower wages. As the population grows more and more crop lands will be paved over to build more housing which would increase our need to import food. This type of increase would also raise higher concerns for our environment with increased levels of pollution, smog, acid rain, and nuclear accidents. The demands would increase for fossil fuels, minerals, and timber. “The implications of those effects on the quality of life, standard of living, increased income inequality, the potential for social conflict, and the potential erosion of traditional American liberties must be a cause for concern for all Americans.” (Martin, 2011).
Diversity in our society is not all bad; there are some benefits to it as well. Cultural diversity brings together the resources and talents of many people for the benefit of all others. Embracing diversity allows us to value our individual heritages and beliefs while respecting those of others. Having respect for each other’s beliefs and values is an integral part of cultural diversity. If we did not have diversity, we would all be the same with the same values and beliefs. Diversity gives us spice and flavor to all groups. We all need to recognize our similarities and appreciate our differences to work towards a more peaceful and productive nation. We can all learn from different cultures and peoples, and educate ourselves so we can reduce the intolerance and prejudice.
The best way to foster a climate of acceptance and cultural pluralism means teaching our children, and influencing their views about diversity. If we do not say anything, our children will most likely adopt their view from other sources. We can help our children develop their own attitudes towards cultural diversity by giving them accurate information about their own heritage and about other cultures, and by helping them understand that bigotry and intolerance are harmful. While it is perfectly fine being proud of our own cultural identity or heritage, it does not mean that ours is superior to someone else’s. Our children need to be taught to respect others and not to judge them. We can teach them that there is much to learn from people that are different from ourselves, which includes people that live far away or lived a long time ago.
Media not only entertains people, but also transfers the stereotypes, beliefs, and values of the society to reproduce the existing order of social life. We can see the stereotypes in movies where men are always helping women gain success. If we look at “A League of Their Own” and other movies about women’s sports from a few decades ago, the male role is usually the coach leading the way for the women to achieve success. This promotes the stereotype that women must listen and learn from men, just like the thought that men make the money, while women are to stay home to cook, clean, and raise the children. Another good example of the media perpetuating stereotypes is through the hit show “The Simpsons”. This show portrays Homer Simpson as the stereotypical American that is obese, lazy, and dull.
Today, television shows are including more diversity which is beneficial to society. A prime example of this is the hit show Grey’s Anatomy. In this show, the lead doctor in charge is African-American, there are many other doctors in this show that are also African-American including one African-American woman doctor, and there is an Asian doctor. This gives hope and inspiration to children and young adults that may have aspirations of becoming a doctor one day. The sitcom, “The Game”, is another example of a show that depicts an interracial relationship as it shows a Caucasian female with an African-American male. “Desperate Housewives” is another example of a show that promotes diversity. Eva Longoria is playing the role of a rich housewife and her husband is also very successful; both of them are of Hispanic or Latin descent. The show tries to rid the stereotype of the relationship between minorities and gardening since in this show, Eva Longoria's gardener is Caucasian. Here, the expectation that most people have about gardeners and the wealthy is reversed.
We can have an impact on increasing the appreciation of diversity in our own communities. We can put out “Hate Free Zone” signs or get a group of people together to get rid of signs of anti-diversity such as graffiti. This might attract the local media groups that would show that your community will not stand for this type of behavior, and turn a positive spin on a negative situation. We can support different candidates in government that helps push for diversity in these types of positions. We could even look into the hiring and contracting policies to see if there are policies that need to be changed that could promote diversity.
I am much more aware today of how I speak about other groups of people. I know what is right to say and what is wrong to say about another group, so being aware of what I say is a huge factor in being politically correct. I can work on my listening skills so I can really hear other people and comprehend what they say. I can develop an appreciation for different cultures and complexities of different people. I can join support groups for certain groups of people and join in events that educate us on specific groups of people and their cultures. “We need to learn about those groups we might feel prejudice toward. It is helpful to read about these groups in books the members of the groups have written, and it's also helpful to go out of our way to visit with members of these groups.” (Cole, n.d.).
Cultural diversity is very beneficial to our society as a whole. We should be concerned with over-populating our nation, and keep our voices heard to keep our immigration at a reasonable, sustainable level. We may not ever have total acceptance towards other groups of people throughout the United States, but anything we can do to help educate each other and teach our children, the better off we will be in the future.

References

Claiborne, R. (2011). New Faces of America: Gerber Babies of Many Races Reflect Future America. Retrieved from http://abcnews.go.com/Health/america-race-birth-rates-suggest-white-majority-minority/story?id=13934948#.UDGdp91lSTI
Martin, J. (2011). Projecting the U.S. Population to 2050. Retrieved from http://www.fairus.org/site/DocServer/pop_projections.pdf?docID=901
Cole, Dr. J. (n.d.). Beyond Prejudice. Retrieved from http://www.beyondprejudice.com/contact.html