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Title: America a melting pot or salad bowl
Introduction
Born as humans but divided by race and ethnicity we all lost our actual identity that is why we are all Homo sapiens and no one is superior to others. Unfortunately, this concept vanishes right after birth. While filling the birth certificate form, we all are differentiated by our color, race, ethnicity, cast, and, etc. The race is defined as the classification of people from one another based on their physical appearances and social qualities. While ethnicity is defined as a group of people having the same cultural values. It also includes language and religion (Bertsch 131). Now the question arises that should we be judged by these definitions or by our mind, our views, and, our ethics.
Discussion
There is huge cultural diversity in the US. This is because the US is considered to be the nation of immigrants. Although a lot of people may disagree, but this is a fact. There are a lot of people in the US that are of mixed races as well. Despite being so much diversity race is still a major issue. Although, people like to cover the issue by saying that we live in a progressive world and race does not matter but in reality, it does. It does affect the people in their daily lives. Whether they are studying, working, regardless of their age and gender. When it comes to children they see and perceive the world differently than what we see. For them, it does not matter what their skin color is. They just like to be differentiated by their names. While entering the school when they came across different people they often ask questions like why I am so white or black, why my hair is curly or straight. As they grew older they realize the concept of race and become part of the same stereotypical culture.
In the US bullying based upon one’s skin color is very common and the sad part is that even children have to go through this. A survey shows that one out of every 5 people faces bullying due to their physical appearance. This causes children to question their own identity and existence. It is also one of the major reason of an increase in mental disorder and suicide. As children and teens are not fully grown they find it hard to understand this harsh reality. Although there are many educational institutes where there is no bullying policy yet still children face this discrimination at every point in their lives.
In our society white is not only a dominant race but it is also considered as the default race. Whether it be TV advertisements, fashion magazines, TV serials white people will be prominent. This is a form of systematic racism that is often neglected. Although bullying and passing racist remarks are major issues but systematic racism is an issue that needs immediate attention. For instance, in most of the leading cosmetics brands there are fewer foundation shades available for tanned or dark skin. Most dolls and toys are available with the picture of white children on them. Additionally, our community is also divided into groups like while people live in a separate block and black in a separate block (Edwards, Roger & Francis 135).
The impact of how the race affects can be easily understood by the examples of many famous people for example the former president of the US Barak Obama faced lots of hurdles to reach to the point where he became president of one of the most powerful state yet still he was not given recognition as other presidents just because of his color though he was mixed –race, not pure black. The same case is with the world-renowned tennis player Serena Williams. She faces constant bullying on social media and in real life just because of their color. Even in films and music industry bullying because of race is not new. With the increase in technology people are more prone to bullying and racism on a daily basis (Dovidio & Samuel 21). People with mixed races spend their entire life to create an identity for themselves yet still they lack the social status that is their birth-right.
Although the US is referred to as a melting pot but after seeing the amount of racism the melting pot is having a severe meltdown. Despite being the citizens of America people are often classified as African-American, Asian-American, and, etc. As by default Americans are supposed to be white. This attitude is the leading cause of people being not able to achieve their goals. Constant bullying and racism are the real cause of increased crimes, drug addiction, and severe mental disorders. Most of the facilities are provided to the white people and their children are more privileged. Whereas black people or any other mixed-race person had to face challenges in every aspect of their lives.
Conclusion
Racism is an issue that needs to be addressed because it is the root cause of all the crimes and mental disorders. A country will never be successful where people are judged by their color. As Michael Johnson says “I don’t fancy colors of the face, I am always attracted to the colors of the brain”, we need to finish this concept of identifying people on the basis of their color or race or their physical appearances and focused more on who they are as human beings. It is very important to understand the fact that every human being is different and should be treated with kindness and respect rather than categorizing them based on their appearances this will make our country successful and prosperous.
Works Cited
Bertsch, Andy. "The melting pot vs. the salad bowl: a call to explore regional cross-cultural differences and similarities within the USA." Journal of Organizational Culture, Communications and Conflict 17.1 (2013): 131.
Dovidio, John F., and Samuel L. Gaertner. Prejudice, discrimination, and racism. Academic Press, 1986.
Edwards, Christopher L., Roger B. Fillingim, and Francis Keefe. "Race, ethnicity and pain." Pain 94.2 (2001): 133-137.
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