Multiculturalism

We live in a diverse world. We are more aware now of this diversity than we have ever been in the past. In particular, we notice the great differences between Western cultures and those of non-Western immigrants.Historic responses to unfamiliar cultures have not always been positive. We can find descriptions in all the world's literature about the disliked 'Other'. Our history is filled with backlash and fight against people perceived to be noticeably different.In the modern era, however, attitudes have changed. It is now considered proper and politically correct to not only accept other cultures but to actively involve oneself in learning about them; to enjoy and even seek after cultural diversity.

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Wikipedia on Criticisms of Multiculturalism:

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Journalist Ed West argued in his 2013 book, The Diversity Illusion, that ... :

Everyone in a position of power held the same opinion. Diversity was a good in itself, so making Britain truly diverse would enrich it and bring ‘significant cultural contributions’, reflecting a widespread belief among the ruling classes that multiculturalism and cultural, racial and religious diversity were morally positive things whatever the consequences. This is the unthinking assumption held by almost the entire political, media and education establishment. It is the diversity illusion.

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We live in a world where diversity is respected and even celebrated; where the Otheras defined against the Westis hailed as fresh and inviting; in a world of Multiculturalism:

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Wikipedia on Multiculturalism:

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Multiculturalism is the cultural diversity of communities within a given society and the policies that promote this diversity. As a descriptive term, multiculturalism is the simple fact of cultural diversity and the demographic make-up of a specific place, sometimes at the organizational level, e.g., schools, businesses, neighborhoods, cities, or nations. As a prescriptive term, multiculturalism encourages ideologies and policies that promote this diversity or its institutionalization. In this sense, multiculturalism is a society "at ease with the rich tapestry of human life and the desire amongst people to express their own identity in the manner they see fit."

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Multicultural ideologies or policies vary widely, ranging from the advocacy of equal respect to the various cultures in a society, to a policy of promoting the maintenance of cultural diversity, to policies in which people of various ethnic and religious groups are addressed by the authorities as defined by the group they belong to.

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But this world is not all the roses the popular media would have us believe. It is, in fact, a world of lower standards, greater mistrust, less community, and self-hate:

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Wikipedia on Criticisms of Multiculturalism:

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The liberal-feminist critique is related to the liberal and libertarian critique, since it is concerned with what happens inside the cultural groups. In her 1999 essay, later expanded into an anthology, "Is Multiculturalism Bad for Women?" the feminist and political theorist Susan Okin argues that a concern for the preservation of cultural diversity should not overshadow the discriminatory nature of gender roles in many traditional minority cultures, that, at the very least, "culture" should not be used as an excuse for rolling back the women's rights movement.

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"The Downside of Diversity" from boston.com:

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Harvard political scientist Robert Putnam -- famous for "Bowling Alone," his 2000 book on declining civic engagement -- has found that the greater the diversity in a community, the fewer people vote and the less they volunteer, the less they give to charity and work on community projects. In the most diverse communities, neighbors trust one another about half as much as they do in the most homogenous settings. The study, the largest ever on civic engagement in America, found that virtually all measures of civic health are lower in more diverse settings.
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"It would be unfortunate if a politically correct progressivism were to deny the reality of the challenge to social solidarity posed by diversity," he writes in the new report. "It would be equally unfortunate if an ahistorical and ethnocentric conservatism were to deny that addressing that challenge is both feasible and desirable."

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More and more different cultures are being piled atop one another. The world is facing a challenge on how to accommodate this realty. One approach has been "multiculturalism", but has this really worked?What alternatives are there to handle the ever-growing reality that "We" are not alone?JonEdited by Jon, : subtitleEdited by Jon, : clarity

And that's bad because...?

There's more than one issue on the table here. Multiculturalism, as the policy of promoting cultural diversity and cultural diversity awareness, is attacked on at least two grounds in the OP:

1. It runs the risk of respecting cultural differences over and at the expense of individual liberties, and
2. It creates communities that are more divisive, not lessit decreases "social capital"

We cannot escape the reality that highly diverse cultures are coming into contact with one another at an increasing rate. We must come up with ways to meet this reality that benefit us as individuals, as societies, as nations, and as a species.Is Multiculturalism the answer to this challenge?Or is there a better way?

You seemed to discount it as a possible alternative to Multiculturalism.Why is that?

But it will never happen in a political and academic setting that promotes Multiculturalism: that seeks to recognize, celebrate, and promote cultural diversity.

Do you see Multiculturalism being an answer, then?If so, where is it applicable? Where has it been applied? What have been the results?Edited by Jon, : No reason given.

I guess I am confused on your position.In what way has the "melting pot" not worked?Edited by Jon, : clarity

What about sustained Multiculturalism? This seems to be an alternative that many people find not only realistic but absolutely ideal.

Then I guess you are against multiculturalism:

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Wikipedia on Multiculturulism:

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As a prescriptive term, multiculturalism encourages ideologies and policies that promote this diversity or its institutionalization.

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The fact that we have many cultures living together is not at dispute here.At issue are the different ways people and government's can address the concerns that arise from culture contact. Multiculturalism, as political and social advocacy of cultural diversity, is one approach. It goes beyond simple respect of diversity (which I think we all agree is important) and outright promotes cultural diversity:

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Wikipedia on Multiculturalism in the U.S.:

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In Pluralistic Universe (1909), William James espoused the idea of a "plural society." James saw pluralism as "crucial to the formation of philosophical and social humanism to help build a better, more egalitarian society.

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"Multicultural Policy and Political Support in European Democracies" (Abstract):

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In response to growing demographic diversity, European countries have selectively implemented political multiculturalism, a set of policies that seek to redefine prevailing conceptions of national identity.

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When it comes to Multiculturalism as a political and sociological ideologyas opposed to a mere understanding of realitythere is a conscious aim at promoting diversity with a belief that it creates better societies and better citizens.According to available evidence, though, Multiculturalism actually creates worse societies and less-engaged citizens.In spite of this, Multiculturalism still seems to be the norm in policy.But it's not working and hasn't been.When do we give up and try something else?Jon

You're talking about Multiculturalism as the reality of multiple cultures existing in proximity of one another.But I'm talking about Multiculturalism as political and sociological ideologies that promote cultural diversity.

Check the OP. Also, I'd like to see about getting a copy of this article: Multicultural Policy and Political Support in European Democracies. I'm going to see if I can get it through any libraries. That's part of the reason for this thread: to explore alternatives to Multiculturalism policies. Off the top of my head I can think of many alternatives, but without considering them at length I cannot be sure if they are better or worse.

In what way should they be compared? Perhaps you can give some examples. Well, I can think of several things. We might find ways to encourage adoption of the national culture, perhaps through certain forms of financial assistance for those who engage in activities typical of that culture.Education is another place to look at.It has become very popular to remove holiday celebration from schools; this was not the case when I was in school, and it still may not be the case in less diverse communities. It seems to be a recent response to Multiculturalisman effort to 'respect' other cultures by hiding and suppressing observance/representation of the the national culture. A lot of this has been done under the banner of 'religious freedom'.But there are plenty of holidays that are non-religious that typify the national culture. Bringing these into classrooms can have a huge impact on the assimilation/melting pot process, especially since children are not likely to demonstrate pushback that adults might show. I have seen some of this in classrooms designed for immigrant children that celebrate various seasons in ways typical of the national culture (e.g., making caramel apples in Fall, etc.). The children pick these things up quickly and show great excitement in participating in the culture. Children, in general, are more receptive to learning the national culture than adults; so it is a good place to start.Though it's not just children. When I was working with adult ELL students, we typically discussed American national culture, and some of the teachers I worked with were very adamant about introducing learners to non-religious American holidays (Thanksgiving, for example) and emphasizing that as non-religious holidays they are meant to be celebrated by all Americans regardless of their religious belief.Since I've spent time working in education my attitudes might be biased, but I do see education as a main avenue for integrating folk into the national culture. And this can be done without violating any rights of people to practice their native culture. So, contrary to the posts some have made in this thread, it is possible to promote a national cultural identity without infringing on rights or asserting some sort of white Anglo superiority nonsense.Anyway, these are ideas. They might not be perfect; but they are a good place to start, I think, in creating an inclusive cultural framework that can both integrate and respect.As for the article; thank you for the link. It wasn't exactly what I had expected it to be, though. I'm not sure if you went and read it yourself, but the authors are talking about public opinion of political regimes based on their (the public's) attitudes toward immigration and the severity of Multicultural policies. I didn't find them addressing the issue of tolerance or attitudes toward different cultures based on the presence of Multicultural policies.Their findings really indicate that people dislike having other cultures shoved down their throats if they are not wanting other cultures shoved down their throats.I'd call it loosely relevant evidence, but nothing we couldn't have predicted.JonEdited by Jon, : factual errorsEdited by Jon, : No reason given.

I don't see how these things apply. Equal treatment for women, homosexuals, disabled people, etc. are all action shots of the Western cultural ideal of individual liberty. The ideal was not realized in full at its conception, but there is no doubt that it is within Western cultures that these ideals were first constructed and where they have been slowly becoming realities.These things are part of the Western culture. And I think anyone who claims these ideals are not superior to their alternatives is either lying or a nutcase. In Multiculturalism these ideals, and all cultural ideals, become 'equalized'. The cultural ideal of 'fair and equitable treatment regardless of sex/gender' is no better than the 'women listen to your husbands or they'll beat you' ideal. This is one of the negative side effects of Multiculturalism that I quoted in the OP. This is possible because Multiculturalism treats the Western culture, along with the values that make it what it is, as just 'another culture', and gives equal treatment to other cultures that may not hold those values.I think people have good reason to be concerned about this consequence of Multiculturalism and what it means for the development of our societies. Actually, areas of the U.S. already have such programs. In the city where I worked with ELL students, there were certain forms of welfare that required enrollment in an English class and the submission of forms from teachers testifying to the number of instructional hours, etc.You are definitely right that job opportunities form great incentives. But this is still just mostly for learning the language.There are other aspects of culture that are equally, if not more, important, such as some of the values I mentioned above. I have to be honest that I am not sure how financial incentives could get people to adopt the values of the Western culture. Interesting. A similar implementation in the U.S. might involve limits on refugee stays along with more strict conditions for gaining citizenship. There are holidays that are both cultural and religious. Often in an attempt to keep religion out of the classroom, both components are removed when they need not be.

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Wikipedia on Christmas:

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Countries such as Japan, where Christmas is popular despite there being only a small number of Christians, have adopted many of the secular aspects of Christmas, such as gift-giving, decorations, and Christmas trees.

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There's a difference between putting up a Christmas tree and setting up a Nativity. Celebration of Christmas is a major part of U.S. culture; it is not restricted only to Christians, and there are even Christians who do not celebrate Christmas. You can cut 'Away in a Manger' from music class without removing 'Deck the Halls' or 'Jingle Bells'.It is a federal holiday in the U.S. and the equivalent in many other countries. See above about Christmas. And here:

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Wikipedia on Christmas Controversies:

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A controversy regarding these issues arose in 2002, when the New York City public school system banned the display of Nativity scenes, but allowed the display of supposedly less overtly religious symbols such as Christmas trees, Hanukkah menorahs, and the Muslim star and crescent. The school system successfully defended its policy in Skoros v. City of New York (2006).

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From the NY Times (cited in the Wikipedia article):

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"Lawsuit Attacks Schools' Ban on Nativity Scenes" from The New York Times, Dec. 11, 2007:

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The policy permits what it calls secular holiday decorations, including ''Christmas trees, menorahs and the star and crescent,'' according to a memorandum that the schools chancellor's general counsel distributed a year ago. If one symbol is displayed, so should those of other ''beliefs or customs,'' it said.

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Note clear double standard. This might be to the point of some of Coyote's remarks earlier that a lot of Multicultural policy seems aimed at suppressing the host/national culture in recognition of immigrant/minority cultures.I don't think we need Nativities, but then we probably don't need menorahs or Muslim stars either. Thanksgiving is discussed. However, my particular remark was about efforts by some teachers to encourage adult ELL students to celebrate the holiday at home as Americans, since it is not a religious holiday. The opposition to celebrating Thanksgiving is usually founded on beliefs that it is a Christian holiday for Christians worshiping their Christian God, etc. Not very American at all. But then again, neither is shooting up the hallways because someone picked on you. I think I have elaborated some, but I'll add more where requested.As for what to add to schools, I think one thing that is missing is very direct instruction on values. While values are occasionally hidden within the rules set for the students, punishments for breaking those rules are often ridiculously lax. Other values are pretty much absent, such as democracy, rule of law, etc. These are things that have probably never been overtly taught, but the increase of populations with non-western cultures almost requires that we bring these things into classrooms if we expect assimilation of those cultures with the national one.A broader problem but also related:Unless they need to be taught how to hold crayons, parents need to stay out of school. This would go a long way in releasing some schools from pressures to provide according to non-western cultural standards. It is a fact that in plenty of schools non-western cultural backgrounds are the norm for a majority of the students and their parents. This has a pretty severe impact on the ability of the school to foster assimilation and provide pro-assimilation education; it cannot do these things while at the same time pandering to the interests of non-western cultures.JonEdited by Jon, : Too, many, commas,.

Multiculturalism is not the same as the melting pot.I don't see schools teaching American culture. Perhaps you can point out some of the things you have seen schools doing that promotes assimilation.I know schools are different all over the country. It is not at all made up. If you read the OP and follow the links there, you will see that there is evidence to suggest that Multiculturalism is a bad model for a society to follow.

Multicultural policies, though, do support the preservation of groups' cultural heritages, and even extend to assisting groups outright in the practice of their native cultures.As an example: Our adult English classes often included an initial 15 minutes of computer-use time to allow people to show up who did not have timeliness as part of their culture. As I mentioned in another post, many of the students relied on attending English class to obtain certain financial assistance; so there is really no reason why a definite class start time could not be enforced.But that's the difference between doing nothing and doing Multiculturalism.