News Article:

Is Multiculturalism Positive Or Negative?

by Qin Wan

Different people have different views to things, like or dislike, agree or disagree. Multiculturalism is a controversial issue in America. Some people think that multiculturalism is negative, whereas some others think that multiculturalism is positive. In my opinion, I agree with the second view, that multiculturalism is positive.

Multiculturalism is diversity of two or more culture in some region or country. America is an immigrant country; most people in America are immigrants. They come from different countries and different ethnic groups; they have different languages, educational backgrounds, customs, values and religions. When they arrive America, they must communicate with other people in English. They learn English and the culture from American people or earlier immigrants who are around them. In their public activity, they must accept American cultural traditions, but in their private lives, they inevitably use their own customs, values, religions, traditional festivals and experiences to influence their behaviors. They are still retaining their own cultures.

Since the 1960s, The America government has admitted, encouraged and supported cultural diversity. Fair policies allowed all citizens to have the right to preserve their cultural inheritance. Public school has bilingual education programs for new immigrant children. Under the laws, racism, discrimination and prejudice are significantly decreased. The relationships of people in the country are friendly and harmonious, and people’s lives have become rich and colorful. We are understanding and learning from each other more easily than before. We can eat different cultural style foods. We can watch different country’s performances. We can enjoy the celebration events of different country’s festivals. Kids growing up in this multicultural background are easy to accept different views, values and behaviors of foreign countries. Especially, following the development of the Internet and wireless communication technology, the distance from country to country and people to people has becomes closer, and the economies between regions and countries are connected more closely. The whole world became a global village. Multiculturalism is becoming more important than at any other time in history.

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