Multiculturalism in the United States

Multiculturalism in the United States

Multiculturalism in the United States
The side in opposition to multiculturalism firmly believes that it weakens America by keeping immigrants from adequately assimilating to the core values of America’s Anglo Protestant identity. This side believes that multiculturalism weakens the “social bond” of the United States by denying that immigrants need to assimilate to the language and values of the country’s dominant culture. The rise of non-English speaking communities is seen as a detrimental factor in the goal of achieving unity in American culture. Opponents state that immigrants coming to the United States must always lose their previous culture from their country of origin, to be able to completely assimilate to and fully embrace American culture. As Norman Podhoretz explains, this is the price of immigration, a “brutal bargain” for the opportunity of a better life (Podhoretz). Multiculturalism has led to a movement of anti-assimilation, which many Americans feel is in severe contrast to the true concept of their nation. As the sizes of immigrant groups grow, their subcultural patterns and language are sustained, which prevents immigrants from learning English and therefore from functioning within the larger society. The motto of the United States is “E pluribus unum”, meaning “out of many, one”. This motto, selected by the Great Seal Committee in 1776, “acknowledged that the thirteen separately governed British Colonies had banded together to form one inclusive nation, a country that stood independent from the British Crown, the United States” (Salvato). Opponents believe that the lack of assimilation has led to adaption problems such as school drop-out, unemployment, and high crime rates. Some believe that educational multiculturalism demeans the nation’s traditional values and disregards the conventional history and culture. Many U.S. high school and college students today demonstrate greater knowledge of historical facts regarding minority figures, rather...