Ethnics

Our country today is home to many cultures; cultures we grew up in, or adapted to. This country is home to a widely diverse group of people; it is the most multicultural country in the world. At which point do the differences between various cultures and ethnicities start to shape an individuals ability to relate to one who is different from them? When two individuals coming from two completely different cultures collide, benefits and problems will arise. The differences between individuals often affect the way they perceive and treat one another. Important factors such as one’s ethnics and integrity impact what benefits and problems that will arise once people of two different cultures interact. This is stemmed from a combination from how an individual was raised with ethics and integrity, while also including one’s culture and race as well. The ethics and integrity of the individual will form the identity, which will then proceed to determine how people from different cultures will relate to one another.

In order to determine the identity of an individual, the ethics and the integrity of that person has must be discovered first. The ethics of one is defined as the system of moral values that an individual follows. Ethics are built up though the upbringing of an individual. The way an individual was raised is a good indicator of how that person either having integrity or lacking integrity. Integrity can often be looked at as the adherence to moral and ethical principals. This means integrity is the ability to follow the ethical code that has been set for that certain individual through their own life experiences. An example of a man showing a strong set of morals and integrity is Martin Luther King Jr.’s, Letter from Birmingham Jail. In this specific letter, he states, “We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed” (166). King writes a vivid letter not asking, but demanding change. This letter was a protest to all the clergymen that were supposed to be on his side, but they were nowhere to be seen or heard. Although King was sent away into jail for a crime he did not commit, he decided to keep his integrity and fight for what he believed in. King’s relentless fight for civil rights showed everyone that he was a man who had integrity because he followed up his ethics and moral value. Martin Luther King was a man who unlike most men at that time went into action with the words he spoke. Based on King’s ethics and integrity, individuals can now see the identity of this man and what he believed in.

Now let’s look at ones identity. People of all cultures and ethnicity have their own individual identity. Having one’s own identity shows that person as being independent on one’s own race, or in other terms, not needing to assimilate with other cultures to show that they belong. Cultural assimilation is defined as the process of integration whereby members of an ethno-cultural community (such as immigrants, or ethnic minorities) are "absorbed" into another, generally larger, community. A good example of assimilation happening occurs in Tyina L. Steptoe’s essay, An Ode to Country Music from a Black Dixie Chick. She writes about herself blending into the country scene, even though she was black and others feeling that she didn’t belong there. (423) Many immigrants have already assimilated into suburban cities making new friends and expanding the knowledge they know through others. As a result of assimilation, communities are now being expanded to let other individuals who want to blend in to come in. However, on the other hand, there are some individuals who have a strong identity and feel pride with their own culture and may choose to keep to themselves. Many immigrants who come over to America decide not to assimilate with other cultures and communities. Instead they decide to find a community where everyone there speaks the same language as that individual does. For an example, let’s take a look at the San Gabriel Valley in California. The San Gabriel Valley is a zone where a lot of Asian people have immigrated to throughout the years, and it gives many individuals a homelike feel, assuming they have immigrated there from a far east country. An Asian immigrant would be most willing to choose and live there because there are a lot of people who are like just like oneself and wont necessarily feel a need to change and fit in to other societies. This is caused by the differences between these individuals cultures.

Cultures are a main reason why people of different ethnicities have a difficult ability to relate to one another. Take a look back in high school and think about all the people that hung out with each other in cliques that they were associated with. As one looks closely and study the cliques of the high school groups, one will see that the people who are of the same ethnicity tend to hang out with their own race. This is a problem becomes exposed when a student of a certain ethnicity has to relate to a student of another ethnicity due to whatever reason. This difference of culture may prove troublesome, however, looking at this from a different angle, could prove advantageous to each of the students because each one could enlighten to other about the culture they are from. This benefit is there to help teach to people communicate better amongst each other. That being said, as more people begin to teach others about their culture, the more people will realize that there are many other cultures out there, not just their own.

Now having looked at identity and culture, let’s combine those and discuss how culture