The great melting pot, or the great stink pot?

We had to define diversity and talk about diversity in America. I got a little off topic.

Diversity means a great variety of the same kind of thing. You could say that a supermarket has a diverse selection of soups. Diversity can also refer to different kinds of people. Many people would say that New York City is the most diverse city in the world. I believe our society is becoming too diverse. With the internet, television, and ease of travel, I think every culture is becoming more and more diluted. At its root, American culture is the most susceptible it being overrun or replaced because it doesn’t have the hundreds or thousands of years or tradition behind it. Sharing and mixing cultures does have its advantages, as it brings greater knowledge and understanding of other people. You must be careful however not to let the weaker culture be squashed out by the dominant culture.

To continue with the soup analogy, if you mix every kind of soup together it does not create the greatest soup in the world, it in fact makes a really yucky soup. For American Culture to be a real culture all of the "flavors" and "ingredients" can't overpower or cancel each other out. I am NOT saying that we should deport everyone I am more saying we need to change the image of what it is like to live in America. This is not a place where you can have all your old customs and traditions (like a caste system or marrying 12 year olds) and have a big house with 2 cars in the garage. But that is the image that people outside of the U.S. think it is like here. I can live exactly how I was in my home country, except I can also have all the material possesions I could dream of!

I look at it this way. Imagine an island and it has only six inhabitants. A native and someone from Egypt, India, China, England, and France. Each person continued to live they way they had in thier home country. Some interacted and were friendly to a few, and some refused to talk with anyone. This island could be described as very diverse, but what culture could you say it had? No one works together for common goals, no one worships the same way, no one even teaches thier children the same way. It is in fact a clashing of cultures.