What is Multiculturalism?

One view is that multiculturalism is the willingness of social and political factions to allow the expressions of different cultures within its own society without penalizing them. Multiculturalism has proponents of it who believe that diversity is strength and we can learn from each other in many areas like the arts and philosophy. Then, there are the detractors that feel that some things like language and social customs need to be adopted by people of other cultures when they emigrate. There is a fear that by allowing multiculturalism in a society that ghettoes, conflicts, and bastions of questionable legal activity may proliferate.

Social Issues with Multiculturalism

Denmark thought of itself as a very progressive community, embracing multiculturalism to the extent that over a million Muslims had emigrated and made their home in Denmark. However, after "Submission" (a movie depicting the stories of four abused Muslim women) was released in 2004, the filmmaker, Theo van Gogh, received many death threats from Muslims and was subsequently assassinated in broad daylight in the streets of Denmark. This has led to a reassessment of policies that embraced multiculturalism and in particular the stance of tolerance towards Islam in Denmark.

One of the issues that were brought to the forefront afterwards was the Muslim ideal of taking child brides. To reduce the possibility of importation of under aged females for the purposes of an arranged marriage, Denmark instituted the 24 years rule. This law requires that any Danish citizen that brings in a foreign spouse must both be at least 24 years of age. It is feared that much of Europe will follow Denmark's lead and less tolerance and acceptance of multicultural ideals will result. However, the conflict of European standards of decency, which does not allow marriages for juveniles, directly conflicts with the Muslim ideal of child brides. In this case, Denmark wishes to re-assert its national identity by penalizing those that attempt this practice. Multiculturalism is a delicate balance when social standards are significantly different between host and immigrant.

The Melting Pot in the USA

While multiculturalism has been a feature of the US melting pot, the diverse ethnicity of the American landscape doesn't automatically result in equality for all members of its society. It has been argued that social and economic resources are not equally distributed amongst different cultures and statistics on minorities in prison and education speak for themselves. However, the United States is a country that values diversity and has built its commerce on the potential to allow others to come in and become their own business owners, some even catering to minority needs. Thus, the attraction of the USA as a tolerant country is still evident by the number of immigrants that seek to enter her borders either legally or illegally.