Diversity in United States

Diversity in United States

What information about diversity in the United States has helped you better understand or relate to others in ways that you may not have in the past?

The United States of America is a diverse country in terms of race, ethnicity, religion and culture. The rising tide of ethnic and racial diversity in America has reached almost every corner of the country, people of Hispanic origin constitute the largest minority group in the country. From the burgeoning immigrant community in South Carolina, to the rapid growth of Latin Americans in Arkansas, minority groups have formed an important sector of the population in each state, except Virginia (Hing, 1997). This diversity has helped me, a great deal, to develop respect for mutual co-existence as I have been offered the opportunity to understand and integrate with people with different racial, cultural and religious background. Interacting directly with these people squashed many myths I've been nurturing in my mind since very long. The US' successful experiment of coexistence diversity clearly demonstrates that, the whole world can live in peace with each other, provided there is a respect for each other's thoughts and beliefs, cultures and social values, race and ethnicity.

Have you learned something new about your own racial, ethnic, or cultural history?

There is much that I have learned about my own racial, ethnic, or cultural history after integrating myself in the American culture. Since racism has always and continues to cast a significant impact on every ethnic group, everyone belonging to one race or another considers his/her race, somewhat, superior. This thinking has historically proves to be the major obstacles in the way of achieving cultural and racial diversity.

In United States, the peaceful amalgamation of different cultural, ethnic and religious groups enlightened my thoughts and guided me to explore my cultural and ethnic history in a very different manner. I have shed the concept of one's superiority on the basis of his cultural, racial or ethnic background, and developed in me, a sense of equality and respect to others irrespective of their ethnic and cultural affiliations. Moreover, I have come to know that how my culture and ethnic and racial history is being seen by others which encouraged me to adopt a more balanced approach about my own history.

Trends in immigration will continue to shape the demographics of the United States. What will the U.S. population look like in the year 2050? Why do you think so?

The US is the largest recipient of immigrants in the world. According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), United States in 2005 was home to 38.4 million international migrants. Many of these immigrants come to America through formal and legal means. The Department of Homeland Security estimates that as of January 2008 there were 12.6 million Legal Permanent Residents in the US. Annually, many permanent residents apply for the citizenship of United States. In 2008 alone, 1,046,539 people had applied for citizenship (Susser & Patterson, ...