With Good Comes Bad

Multiculturalism is truly a beautiful thing.  It diversifies countries and introduces new arts, values, language initiatives, and much much more.  Welcoming myriads of people from various countries with open arms seems like the right thing to do.  However, this can also be a huge potential detriment to the security of a nation.  A country taking immigrants under its wing is very humanitarian and can be quite beneficial, but when does it all realistically go too far?  Would Illegal immigration make the cut?  What about demonstrated acts of terror?

The influx of immigrants entering or having previously entered the country can pose a threat to those citizens who are already residing here.  Immigration is extremely important, but illegal immigration is unacceptable.  It is simply not fair to allow someone to enter the country illegally without having gone through the long and grueling process that their legal counterpart has successfully completed.  People work very hard to come here, so to come to a country illegally yet still reap the benefits of a citizen should not be tolerated. 

An illegal immigrant is permitted to attend public school until being deported, but the issue is that they are not being deported and some (of course, not all) of these illegals are dangerous.  Some towns, like Rockville, Maryland have gone as far as to try and become sanctuary cities.  Only a day ago in Rockville, Maryland, a 14-year old girl was brutally raped in her own high school by two older students.  These older students were 18 and 17 years old and happened to be undocumented (illegal) immigrants.  They also happened to be placed in the 14-year old girl’s grade despite the age gap.  School is supposed to be a place where students feel safe.  This is where the real concern emerges.  Creating a safe environment for immigrants is great, but when they are illegal and when they interfere with the safety of citizens, it can no longer be acceptable.  Essentially, an innocent citizen was raped by two illegal immigrants that should not have been present in the first place.

According to a Fox News report, this tragic event was overlooked and not reported by other popular news sources (at the time of my research, this was indeed the case).  Perhaps the incident was not reported by many news sources because they felt the story would taint the idea of multiculturalism.  However, most of us already understand the benefits of and appreciate multiculturalism.  One incident does not define a group of people, but it should still make an impact and be shared with the populace.  Unfortunately, sometimes the values and ideals of people entering the country do not mesh with those we hold firm and dearly here.  America is the land of the free, indeed.  However, when anyone (citizen or not) acts in a culturally offensive or illegal manner, they need to endure the proper ramifications.    

As noted by the Daily Signal, “White House press secretary Sean Spicer said, ‘Part of the reason that the president has made illegal immigration and crackdown such a big deal is because of tragedies like this.’”     

Despite the potential dangers of illegal immigration, the sad truth is that many acts of terror are perpetrated by nationals inspired by the ideologies of extremist groups.  When values do not coincide with the overarching values of the country as a whole, major conflict can occur.  Extreme acts of violence can seriously put any population at risk, including multiculturally flourishing ones.  For example, very recently in London, England a 52-year old British man named Khalid Masood ran over and severely injured several people.  He killed three people – a British woman of Spanish descent, an American, and a British police officer (whom he stabbed).  Prime MinisterTheresa May said that “[Masood] was thought to have been inspired by Islamist ideology.”  According to CNN, “A number of tourists were among 40 people hurt in the assault, including five South Koreans and three French high school students. One Australian was hospitalized. A Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman said one Chinese tourist was slightly injured.”  Other victims included citizens of Romania, Germany, Poland, Ireland, Italy and Greece.

Can multiculturalism actually be a threat to multiculturalism?  Or is it only in isolated rare cases?  Should illegal immigration be overlooked for multiculturalism’s sake, or should it be properly dealt with to help reduce tragic incidents such as the recent Rockville rape?  What is more important, multiculturalism or the safety of American citizens?  All thoughts are welcome in the comments below!   

Authentic American Culture: Does it Exist?

What is American culture comprised of?  Do we even have a culture? 

Being a relatively new country, and being known as a melting pot has framed the U.S. in such a way that the U.S. may appear to have no single culture of its own.  Of course, our history of welcoming myriads of diverse people into our country has brought up the common thought:  “Well, the many cultures we welcome into the U.S. ultimately become our culture.”  But is this really true?  Perhaps the answer lies somewhere in between the lines of the melting pot and a singular culture. 

Tackling this issue of U.S. culture, and providing an answer to the big frequent question about it, is extremely important for the maintenance of American patriotism and soul.  If we have no clue what our culture is or whether or not one even exists, how can we parade around celebrating the cultures of others who come here?  It’s like the common phrase “you can’t love anyone else if you don’t love yourself.”  How can we, as a country, appreciate other cultures if we can’t identify our own?  

      

First we must define culture (though the definition may vary from person to person).   Cristina De Rossi, an anthropologist at Barnet and Southgate College in London, says that "Culture encompasses religion, food, what we wear, how we wear it, our language, marriage, music, what we believe is right or wrong, how we sit at the table, how we greet visitors, how we behave with loved ones, and a million other things.”  This multitude of components is no wonder that we have such a difficult time cracking down on one definitive answer to the American culture question.

Taking this definition into account, we can then argue that America’s official culture is that of the Native Americans, because they inhabited this land first.  However, pbs.org states that “In the 21st century, almost two-thirds of Native Americans live in urban areas, losing contact with their reservations and other members of their tribe. This makes it harder for these urban Indians to express and reinforce their cultures. Sometimes the closest they come is at the big city pow wows where dances and costumes are reduced to pan-Indian stereotypes.”  Also, culture on reservations is suffering as well, since their cultural events have gained publicity and they are struggling to defend their privacy.  Sadly, the Native American culture doesn’t seem to hold much prevalence anymore.

Our authentic culture may also be British, as they arrived in around the 1600s to establish their colonies.  With colonization probably came cultural establishment as well.  However, what about current day?  America’s authentic culture may have been English, or Native American, or both, but America’s modern culture (that is most prominent and visible today) is arguably different.  Modern American culture is most likely influenced by Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans, and African Americans, as opposed to Native Americans and Englishmen.

Hispanic Americans have a huge and growing influence on American culture.  One in every six Americans is Hispanic.  Both Hispanics and non-Hispanics agree that food, music, and sports are the greatest areas of Hispanic cultural influence.  Unlike Native American culture, which is dying out, Hispanic culture and the influences of other immigrants is rising.

Another definition of culture is “a set of beliefs and behavior patterns that are generally shared by the members of a group.”  According to this definition, the authentic American culture could conceivably be just based off the unique values our country holds.  American culture is freedom – freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of the press.  American culture is rights – women’s rights, minority rights, rights to own property, rights to bear arms, etc.  I personally believe that this is what makes our country’s culture.  Yes, many countries have deep-rooted, historical, and colorful cultures that were based on the indigenous peoples, traditions, and foods.  However, America’s culture is based on values and ideas that set us apart from the rest of the world and give us a strong advantage.  

Perhaps American culture is something found in the private homes of each and every one of us, in our families, or in our country’s values.  Perhaps that is why we are able to appreciate the integration of outside cultures in our land – because many of us have a story to tell about how our parents or grandparents or great-grandparents came to this nation of freedom.  If at the end of the day, American culture is something personal and non-communal, what does American culture mean to you?  Do you think we have one single culture, or is our culture truly and solely made up of the many cultures immigrants bring along with them?  

Please comment your thoughts!