The Lack Of Cultural Diversity In Small Towns

People in various separate of the world protest in certain hereditary features, including the color of their skin, the caryopsis of their hair, their facial features, their stature, and the shape of their heads. But by the same token, the features that pieces allwhere sh ar are substantially larger and of considerably greater magnificence than their differences. The disparities between b deprivations and whites are not virtually as remarkable as between carnivores and humans. But physical distinctions, such as a hinderance or flight, become strengthened by societal insights, which consequently riposte bigger spaces between mint (Carbaugh, 1990).Most people belong to a follow of convocations, some voluntary, some by birth, usurpion, or selection into those sort outs. Salient groups, the peerlesss we consciously value, provide a source of identity. Structurally, these are micro endings or co- farmings within a macro enculturation. A individual magnate identify an elde rly microculture, a cowpoke microculture, an Appalachian microculture, or a volunteer association microculture. Each group exhibits some similarities to the large culture, but also some differences (Locke and Stern, 1942).Within the United States, blacks, Hispanics, Indians, Asian-Americans, and Jews lead been the victims of prejudice and discrimination. Throughout more than of the nations history, they bemuse been confined to subordinate statuses that cause not been justified by their individual abilities and talents (Frazier, 1957). The conceptual baggage we very much carry with us, such as stereotypes of other racial groups, can intimately blind us to the fact that, in galore(postnominal) instancesm few epoch-making differences be between two people.Real heathenish differences do not endlessly exist beyond ethnicity and race, In a diverse fraternity, we simply dramatize the immediate by dint of stereotypes (Frazier, 1957). The great merit of culture is that it perm its human beings to tease the slowness of genetic evolution. Behavior patterns that are wired into organisms by their genes do not allow rapid ad cleveration to changing conditions. In contrast, ethnic veer can be rapid. Indeed, some social scientists contend that pagan evolution has swamped biological evoulution as the chief source of behavior variety show for human beings.The functioning of the human brain is no longer rapidly prescribed by genetic programs (Locke and Stern, 1942). Instead, genes thrust allowed the construction of a liberate brain, sensation that permits a flexible repertoire of responses. The more culture human beings have acquired, the more biological capacity for culture has then evolved, jumper cable to more culture, and so on. The fact that culture has increasingly usurped nature as the primary moving force in human waxment has implications for ethnic unity and diversity (Locke and Stern, 1942). heathen diversity whitethorn also be found within a society.In many modern nations, the members of some groups participate in the main culture of the society while simulatenously sharing with oneness other a number of unique values, norms, traditions, and deportmentstyles. These distinctive heathen patterns are termed a subculture. Subcultures abound in American life, and find expression in various apparitional, racial, ethnic, occupational, and age groups (Locke and Stern, 1942). Generally, when we communicate with members of our own culture, we have internalized the heathen rules that set up the behavior within the context, and we are able to communicate without giving much thought to those rules.But when we are engaged in inter ethnic encounters, we must be aware(predicate) of how our culture influences the communication context otherwise, we may stumble upon a novelty of surprises (Castro, 2003). Obviously, there are large global regions and national cultures that are structurally and organically bound together in a so cial schema where people have developed a cultural network. Examples include what might be globally described as North American culture, Latin American culture, African culture, Middle Eastern culture, European culture, and Asian culture.These global differences, marked by geopolitical factors and national identity, fit into the study of culture influence on diversity (Harris and Moran, 1979). Perhaps the most distinguishing characteristic of a multicultural society, though, is the form of acculturation used. There are three processes through which disparities between the overabundant culture and minority cultures can be case-hardened (Castro, 2003). The first of these, assimilation, is a unilateral process by which minority culture members adopt the norms and values of the supreme group in the society (Harris and Moran, 1979).The second, cultural separatism, is a situation where there is little adaptation on all side. Finally, pluralism is a process by which both minority and majority culture members adopt some norms of the other group. Perhaps, the pluralistic form of acculturation is the shaping feature of a multicultural society. It is only through pluralism that members of any society can come to understand and truly value cultural and sexual urge diversity (Harris and Moran, 1979). A shared cultural background makes people heart more comfortable with other people from their own culture.Many people ab initio may feel con groundd and uneasy when they deal with people of another culture. The discomfort that people a great deal feel when they have jobber with an unknown culture is called culture shock. subtlety shock usually passes if a person stays in a brand- naked as a jaybird culture long abundant to understand it and get used to its ways (Lambert and Taylor, 1990). Immigrants need to cope with the cultural changes brought about by continuous firsthand contact with another culture. matchless of the chief characteristics of the acculturatio n process is that elements of the original culture can neer be completely erased.An awareness of American culture along with examples of contrasting cultures contributes to the individuals understanding of her- or himself as a cultural being (Chiswick, 1982). The Old Order Amish are a case in point. The Amish are a religious sect that originated in Germany and Switzerland during the reformaiton conflicts of the sixteenth century. Because of religious persecution, many Amish families live on farms, although a minority work in skilled crafts like carpentry, furniture-makingm and blacksmithing.They believe in a literal comment of the Bible and turn their backs on modern standards of dress, progressive morality, worldly amusement, automobiles, and higher(prenominal) education. Above all, the Amish value hard physical work and believe that those who do not find joy in work are someway abnormal. Far from being ashamed of their nonconformity to worldly standards, the Amish pride themsel ves on being a peculiar people who separate themselves from the world (Castro, 2003).Within the American society, there exist many subcultures, or ways of life that differ from one another in many important respects. Some of these subcultures exist partly because the nation has been settled over the eld by people from many different parts of the world, bringing with them their own particular usance and values. Whatever the customs and rules may be, every culture and every subculture molds the settlers consequently (Harris and Moran, 1979). Learning how to be open and flexible helps facilitate strangers adaptation by enabling them to endure stressful challenges and maximize learning.Openness implies the immigrants willingness to accept change and exposure to new ideas (Chavez, 2001). Flexibility also means that communicatively competent immigrants develop a repertoire of interpersonal tactics. As sociologist Foster put in an analogy, the better international negotiators are ultima tely pragmatic. They are not oaks instead they are more like willows. Unable to predict every situation, every twist and turn, even in domestic situation, they know that it is nearly unrealistic to do so in a cross-cultural one (Locke and Stern, 1942).The immigrants efforts at being adaptable will be greatly facilitated if he or she learns how to tolerate a degree of ambiguity while hard to analyze what role to play. The intercultural encounter is full of potential ambiguity. The ability to contradict to new and ambiguous situations with minimal discomfort has long been thought to be an important asset when adjusting to a new culture. If the immigrant is self-conscious, tense, and anxious when confronted with the unknown, he is apt to use his energy to alleviate his frustration instead of trying to limit how best to adapt to the person and situation (Locke and Stern, 1942).Some non-Hispanics in the United States terror that the countrys rapidly growing Hispanic population will not adopt the language, customs, and viewpoint of the dominant, English-speaking culture. Some of these people fear that their way of life will be replaced by the foreign ways of Hispanic Americans (Sanchez, 1995). Others get that a large Spanish-speaking minority will become a permanent underclass, locked out of economic advancement by a lack of fluency in English. Many historians and sociologists discount such fears. They point to the many immigrant groups that have become part of American culture.They also note that moreover for recent immigrants, most Hispanic Americans can speak English (Hinkle, 1994). No society is so isolated that it does not come in contact with other societies. When contact occurs, societies borrow cultural traits from one another. As a result, cultural traits and patterns tend to spread from the society in which they originated (Chavez, 2001). It seems logical thence that a change in an attitude, caused by new beliefs or new emotional responses, should a cause a change in behavior. Yet, the range of events is frequently exactly the opposite.In many cases, the change in behavior comes first, and this new behavior creates the change in attitude (Locke and Stern, 1942). New social situations ofttimes push the immigrants in the direction of changes in behavior, and these in turn often lead to changes in attitudes. This has been especially noticeable in recent years in the attitudes of whites toward blacks and of blacks toward whites. In general, it has been found that people who have worked with members of the other race hold more favorable attitudes, while those who have had no mixed contacts tend to feel less favorable.Undoubtedly, the explanation is that new forms of behavior have produced attitude changes (Chavez, 2001). At times, the norms, values, and lifestyles of a subculture are substantially at betting odds with those of the larger society and constitute a counterculture. A counterculture rejects many of the behavioral s tandrads and guideposts that hold in the dominant culture. The hangloose orientation found among some youth in the early 1970s had a good many countercultural overtones.The teenaged people questioned the legitimacy of the Establishment, rejected the hard-work ethic of their elders, turned to drugs in a search for new experiences, and dropped out of middle-class life. Controversy surrounding late involvement in the hangloose counterculture resurfaced in the late 1980s when Judge Douglas H, Ginsburg was compelled to fall back as a Supreme Court nominee after it was give away that he had used marijuana as a youthl the debate widened when elected presidential contenders Senator Albert Gore, Jr. , and Bruce Babbitt admitted that they too had used marijuana in te 1960s. Delinquent gangs, Satanic cults, and the survivalist right are other illustrations of counterculture groups (Hinkle, 1994).People of one culture who move to a country where another culture dominates may give up their old ways and become part of the dominant culture. The process by which they do this is called assimilation. Through assimilation, a minority group eventually disappears because its members lose the cultural characteristics that set them apart.Assimilation is the process through which one social and cultural group becomes part of another social and cultural group (Locke and Stern, 1942). In a diverse society, dominant groups and minority groups often approach assimilation differently. Within the United States, two views toward assimilation have dominated. One, the melting pot tradition, has seen assimilation as a process whereby peoples and cultures would fuse within the nation to produce a new people and a new civilization.The other, the Americanization tradition, has viewed American culture as an essentially finished merchandise on the Anglo-Saxon pattern, and has insisted that immigrants promptly give up their cultural traits for those of the dominant American group (Hinkle, 199 4). To sum it up, recognition of multiculturalism and cultural diversity are key to developing a climate of a healthy kindred and respect among the peoples. While racial anxieties exist in modern society, the mixed peoples may blend merely with others of common cultural upbringing.Works Cited Carbaugh, Donal. Cultural confabulation and Intercultural Contact. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1990. Castro, Vanessa Smith. Acculturation and Psychological Adaptation. Greenwood Press, 2003. Chavez, Leo R. Covering Immigration common Images and the Politics of the Nation. University of California Press, 2001. Chiswick, Barry R. The Gateway U. S. Immigration Issues and Policies. American Enterprise Institute, 1982. Frazier, Franklin. feed and Culture Contacts in the young World. Alfred A. Knopf Publishing, 1957.Harris, Philip R.and Moran, Robert T. Managing Cultural Differences. Texas Gulf Publishing, 1979. Hinkle, Gisela J. The Development of Modern Sociology Its Nature and Growth in the United States. Random House, 1994. Lambert, Wallace E. and Donald M. Taylor. Coping with Cultural and Racial Diversity in Urban America. Praeger Publishers, 1990. Locke, Alain and Bernhard J. Stern. When Peoples Meet A subscribe in Race and Culture Contacts. Progressive Education Association, 1942. Saney, Parviz. Crime and Culture in America A Comparative Perspective. Greenwood Press, 2000.