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Jenna Tomayko
Sociology 102
Journal #8
Racial diversity is necessary yet controversial.
The United States of America, also known as the melting pot of the world, is home to
a variety of different cultures and ethnicities from around the world. Most of the American
population, apart from Native Americans who are currently a minority, immigrated to this
country at one point in time. While the majority of the population is Caucasian hundreds of
other ethnicities exist within our extremely diverse culture. The diversity present in
America in my opinion is a valuable resource in the advancement and growth experienced
in our society and often is taken for granted.
Diversity fosters innovation in an environment filled with the various opinions and
ideas of individuals that come from all different walks of life that have valuable and
uniquely different perspectives to bring to society. This combination of conflicting ideas
and beliefs aids in the improvement of society in all aspects when compared against one
another. Without diversity our society would most likely be more close-minded about
certain worldly issues they might have otherwise embraced. Living in such a close
proximity to such an array of cultures promotes a fusion between a diverse group of people
which more often then not enhances their way of life. Cultural diversity is necessary to
breed creative and innovative ideas and to spark collaboration between different societies.
While cultural diversity in my opinion is necessary in society it can unfortunately be
extremely controversial as well. The world has come a long way in terms of racial equality
however racism still exists and is deeply rooted in society. Even in today’s day and age
certain cultures and races continue to face discrimination. The United States historically
has experienced racial inequality and while it has improved drastically it still remains a
large issue in America and around the world. Many people strongly oppose diversity for
various reasons. Some might have been raised with certain beliefs about other cultures that
are too strong to overcome while others many just fear the unknown and are too skeptical
about other cultures due to the implanted judgmental opinions of today’s media. Whatever
the reason there still remains a large portion of society that hasn’t yet or isn’t ready to fully
embrace and appreciate other cultures for the valuable beliefs and ideas that they have to
offer.
As stated in my brief statement sentence I believe cultural diversity is necessary and
healthy in the positive development of a society yet the negative beliefs and judgments
present in American continue to deter or even destroy the possibility for that to happen
entirely. These deeply rooted beliefs Americans have about other cultures breed tension
within our society that inevitably boils over and erupts on occasion. This tension is one of
the most counterproductive and destructive cancers in the world. It prevents our society
from experiencing healthy growth and prosperity and forces society to harbor harmful
emotions toward other human beings. I don’t believe that any one person can truly live in
our society without experiencing some of the emotions towards other individuals to a
certain degree whether it consciously or subconsciously however it is when we as people
let the emotions materialize into something much more damaging such as racial bias or
discrimination. Society hasn’t, nor will it, be able to function properly without the
acceptance of different cultures. When society becomes able to dispose of their preexisting
beliefs and not only unbiasedly perceive different cultures but appreciate their value in this
world then it will be able to achieve its full potential and develop together as a people.