Multiculturalism in America: Idealism Vs. Realism

As far back as the late 1700's America has been envisioned as a country unlike no other. It was then when Hector St. Jean de Crevecoeur predicted that the country's vast immigrant populations would melt down and form an even stronger and more complex society. He verbalizes his assertions saying "what, then is the American, this new man? He is neither an European, or the descendant of an European . . . He is an American, who leaving behind him all his ancient prejudices and manners, receives new ones from the new mode of life he has embraced, the new government he obeys, and the new rank he holds . . . Here individuals of all nations are melted into a new race of men, whose labours and prosperity will one day cause great changes in the world."

Many centuries later and right down into today Crevecoeur's claims for the status of America are still held by many American idealists who truly believe that this country has the capacity to produce a new race. Others have accepted the fact that America will never produce a new race but still hold on strong to the myth of multicultural society. This group, instead of viewing the country as a "melting" pot considers it to be more of a pot of stew where all cultures and races like ingredients in a stew remain separate but harmonize in the end to create one satisfying result or flavor.

Admittedly, for those who believe in the "melting pot" their assertions may be true to some extent, for instance, it is obvious that several European groups that have immigrated since the birth of this country and thereafter have in fact over the centuries "melted down" into a new race of White Americans. Such groups bear the title American as a proud first name forgetting their English, German, Irish, etc. roots. On the other hand, groups of color haven't been nearly has fortunate as many have been forced into the assimilation of their languages, morals, culture, etc. all for a non-existent "melting pot." Furthermore, after having been forced to assimilate and incorporate the European values of this country, groups of color still have to carry the country's title as a hyphenated last name such as African- American, Asian-American, etc.

Groups that support multiculturalism and believe in it's existence however, ignore these and other facts that illustrate the falsehood of a multicultural society in this country even in the 21st century. Many people feel that they and the rest of the country are multicultural because they see in everyday life people of different ethnic and social cultures getting along and tolerating one another and maybe even to some degree mixing. Others believe that the vast majority of diverse foods, music, languages, and traditions found in the country make it multicultural, and that by dabbling in an out of different traditions, listening to different music, and trying different foods somehow make them instant multiculturalists. In her essay The Struggle to Be an All American Girl Elizabeth Wong stated her reason for believing she was multicultural when she says "I always thought of myself as being multicultural. I preferred tacos to egg rolls; I preferred Cinco de Mayo more than Chinese New Year (44)."

In chapter two of the book Society: the Basics it discusses ideal and real culture. Ideal culture is defined as "Values and norms that do not describe actual behavior as much as they suggest how we should behave." The paragraph further indicates that "We must remember that ideal culture always differs from real culture that actually occurs in everyday life (41)." With that in mind, the truth is even in this century America is far removed from being a multicultural country as it is from being a melting pot.

It is true that America is in fact a country that contains nearly every other race and culture in the world, but the reality is that the level of cultural and racial tolerance is a lot lower than what many people consider it to be, and that equality is not as prevalent among cultures maintained by people of color. Many cultures find themselves continuously left out of the description of the American way.

In his essay Learning About Anti-Semitism in the Real World, Civil Activist and Harvard Law Professor Alan M. Dershowitz writes about how his Jewish cultural heritage prevented him from being fully recognized and included in everything from social organizations to certain jobs. He writes "I was applying for a law job and thought my law school record was what counted. To my chagrin, I began to get a few rejection notices. At first I thought the competition for the few jobs was just too keen. Then I began to learn who had been offered the jobs for which I had been turned down. Some were students of middle or bottom of the class, the ones who generally got the answers wrong and came to me and my Law Journal after class for the right answers (358)."

In addition to Dershowitz assertions, powerful black leader Malcolm X in an excerpt from his autobiography points out that "history had been "whitened" - when white men had written history books, the black man simply had been left out . . . the history of the Negro had been covered in one paragraph (222)."

This fact of being left out forces many to relinquish many of their cultural norms and mores. In the same previously mentioned essay Elizabeth Wong writes about how much she resented her Chinese American culture because of how it caused her to stand out among the rest of her American peers she mentions that "the language was a source of embarrassment. More times than not, I had tried to disassociate myself from the nagging loud voice that followed me wherever I wandered in the nearby American supermarkets outside Chinatown. . . After two years . . . I was finally granted a cultural divorce. I was permitted to stop Chinese school. . . At last, I was one of you; I wasn't one of them (43-44)."

The fact that America is not a multicultural society overall affects several minority groups. Many, like Dershowitz face various forms of discrimination, and are not provided with equal resources and opportunities to succeed as Americans as their majority counterparts.

For example the availability of equal education in the United States is rare. Schools in poorer neighborhoods where people of color are more likely to reside the quality of education is much poorer than that of the middle, or upper class where the dominant white American culture is more likely found. Also in poorer schools students are subject to unfair standardize testing which in turn is used for "tracking" purposes where students who perform on certain levels are assigned to specific educational programs. For instance, students who perform highest are placed in college prep courses whereas students who perform the least are encouraged to attend vocational programs. Furthermore students who attend poorer school are likely to be financially deprived themselves and unlikely to have equal access to higher education.

Discrimination against minority races and cultures goes far beyond education. Racial and cultural profiling is just another reason as to why multiculturalism doesn't exist in our society. Very frequently members of the hip hop culture for example who dress in baggy clothing are profiled and assumed to be trouble makers by others. Besides cultural profiling job discrimination as experienced by Dershowitz is summed up in chapter ten of the book Applying Ethics. Here it gives statistical evidence of job discrimination against minorities. It points out that "minority members hold the less desirable jobs and get paid less than their white male counterparts . . . between non-Hispanic white males and black and Hispanic males. The 1999 median income for full time workers over twenty-five of the first group was $41,555, compared to $30,926 for their black counterparts . . . the disparities applied to all educational levels . . . [furthermore] in jobs dominated by white males, the word of a job vacancy tends to reach other white males . . . minorities hit an invisible ceiling beyond which they have difficulty rising. Part of the problem . . . is the existence of private white male clubs where important business contacts are made and developed. Another . . . is the resistance of people, at the level, to those who are "not like us" (412-413)"

However, these and other facts and the current status of America not being a multicultural society does not mean that it will never be. Lynell George in his essay Gray Boys, Funky Aztecs, and Honorary Homegirls discusses the "mixing" that has taken place in one part of L.A. After asking the assistant principle of one high school what she thought about multiculturalism he writes that the principle claimed that she noticed "The hip hop inspired cross colors, usually associated with black students, have caught on with the Samoans and Latinos . . . a quieter form of cultural exchange and communication . . . There are a few African Americans . . . who wear white T-shirts and khakis and speak Spanish . . . Many of the black kids are Hispanic. We have Chinese-Cubans, We have Koreans who speak Portuguese." This, what is happening in one part of the country is astonishing evidence of what may be in the future for the rest of the country. But for now when people ask if America is a truly multicultural country, the answer will still have to be no.