Is There Too Much Emphasis Placed On Cultural Diversity

Essay by PaperNerd ContributorCollege, Undergraduate October 2001

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To lack emphasis on culture is to perpetuate the philosophy of single-mindedness and white dominance in our society. In my opinion, our society needs to emphasize culture to a further extent since there can never be too much emphasis on it. The blatant reason why we should accentuate the diversity in society is because it truly represents the essence of the people. It exemplifies all of who we are - our physical, abstract, social, political, and religious being. It reflects our achievements, short-comings, dilemmas, and evolution. To deny the essence of a culture, is to deny all that we have fought for in the past: freedom.

Another reason why there is never enough emphasis on culture is because people generally fear what they do not know or understand. When the British and the Portuguese began colonizing Africa, their lack of understanding caused them to dismiss the African's culture.

When one does not understand a particular culture, one will move to suppress that culture and close the doors to a world full of potential knowledge and diversity. In fact, the more we live in a world of multi-culture, the harder it is to maintain the spirit of each culture individually.

In essence, it is inevitable that with increased diversity there will be a direct increase in conflicts. In fact, in a multi-cultural society, wants, needs, and beliefs clash.

However, it is this clash that helps to bring about the unique distinctions among the cultures and a clash that lays the foundation for knowledge and experience. It is a convergence that ultimately prevails when there is genuine acceptance among each other. It is the human right of every citizen in every nation to work in a common effort to expose their cultures to one another. Unfortunately, if we do...