Words: 1461
This paper will explore my philosophy of diversity. Since I live In the united States, the paper will focus on the United States’ diversity. In the course, ORGY: Cultural Diversity & Individual Differences we have done multiple discussion Journal reflections which relate to diversity. The paper will relate those discussions to my philosophy of diversity. A few of those discussions focused on the United States diversity and it appears that America’s diversity would be pluralistic and Mosaic in nature, which will be discussed a little further in detail.
In the course we have also experienced a cultural plunge assignment, which will also be used in the paper to relate and build upon my philosophy of diversity, The Call Rights Movement along with the Gay Rights Movement and homosexuality will be discussed as part of my diversity philosophy as well. This paper will also consider how being conscious about your own personal philosophy can help you communicate better with others. Diversity Philosophy Diversity Is the elements or ways that people differ from one another; race, ethnicity, personality, sexual orientation, income, religion, location are a few examples (Butcher, 2010).
Diversity is everywhere in the world today, and especially in the United States. The biggest part of diversity is learning to embrace and accept it. Diversity Is about opening our minds to people. Cultures, and opportunities (Boucher. 2010). You must do your best to understand all diversities and cultures to the fullest especially since America is the Mosaic of cultures and diversity is prevalent everywhere (Payroll, 2011 A person can grow by accepting others even though they are deferent than themselves. Being American Is about being diverse and living with diversity.
Every diversity philosophy should include diversity philosophy should include embracing diversity. I am an American and I do embrace diversity, my diversity philosophy is to be aware of myself and others around me to understand those diversities to communicate better with others and educate other to promote Journal Reflections/Delusions acceptance. America’s culture and diversity appears to be pluralistic in nature. Pluralism is 1 OFF when cultural differences of individuals are acknowledged and preserved (Butcher, 2010).
I feel that the American culture is primarily reflected by Pluralism because we have many different cultures inside the larger American Culture. The smaller individual cultures tend to remain intact; examples of this could be the Hispanic or Native American culture. The United States has human diversity that is explained both by the mosaic and melting pot metaphors. The difference with the two is that the mosaic is when parts of different cultures are used to make another culture; while the melting pot is when the cultures are melted together to form a new culture (Payroll, 2011).
The United States has been known as the melting pot for a long time, the Melting pot theory indicates that all cultures melt into one culture creating a new breed-the American (Payroll, 2011). It would appear that the United States is actually more of a Mosaic instead of the well know Melting Pot. Through our culture we learn how to see the world (Payroll, 2011). Reality Construct can dictate your perception of other people. When you belong to a certain culture, you may treat or perceive another culture in a certain way.
The American Dream was build on hard work. Americans believe that those who can work should and feel that those who do not are lazy and taking advantage, those who do not have this in their culture may be looked at in a discriminatory way by someone who is American. Cultural Plunge The United States has not always accepted diversity as part of who they are. Lifestyles and values are shared from one generation to the next (Payroll, 2011). People share the values of their society in most cases.
When a society looks at a minority group as being inferior, it may take hundreds of years to break that view because the view is passed down from generation to generation. The Civil Rights Movement had a large part in people opening up to embrace differences. In the sass’s the movement hit its peak with working towards equality for black (Bush, 2003). However, the Civil Rights Movement also opened doors for the Gay Rights Movement. In our cultural plunge assignment for ORGY: Cultural Diversity & Individual Differences I focused on homosexuality, sexual orientation.
I now realize that the Civil Rights Movement played a large part in the Gay Rights Movement. It really was not apparent that the two movements were connected before the cultural plunge assignment was fulfilled. Early views of homosexuality portrayed it as sinful the attitudes towards homosexuality were largely influenced by Jude-Christian tradition, which looked at homosexuality as a sin (Morgan & Morison, 1993). Being homosexual s starting to be portrayed in an accepted light over all. Societies can portray the homosexual culture in a negative or positive light.
People are still fighting for equal rights for gays and it is shown through the multiple gay rights activist and rally photos that are available through Google images. However, it does appear that gay people are more widely accepted in today’s societies and have cultures that are unique to their norms and values. However, society does appear to accept lesbians in a fairer light than compared to gay men. Being conscious of one’s own diversity philosophy can help them communicate teeter with others that are different or even the same as them.
Now that I am aware of my own personal philosophy of diversity I can relate and communicate better with others. You cannot control that your neighbor is homosexual, but you can educate yourself and open yourself up to understand the culture in order to become more accepting of it. When you are sheltered to one culture and do not allow yourself to experience other cultures and become multicultural aware or educated then in can impact your behavior. This can lead to racism, ridiculing and stereotyping.
My perversity impacts my behavior by allowing me to accept people for people and not judging them by their cover. I have put myself out there in different settings to get familiar with different cultures. Sometimes it has been uncomfortable at first, but each time you do it the easier and more comfortable it gets. For example, going to the Gay Pride festival with my sibling, it was uncomfortable at first, but the more I go, the easier it gets and more comfortable I feel.
My diversity can also impact other people’s behavior. When a person realizes that I am educated in multiculturalism it an put them at ease and allow them to interact with me a little easier. I have a transgender sibling and it makes it easier for a gay person to open up to me a little easier knowing that I have been exposed to that culture. I have always tried to find a silver lining in any situation, and if you can find something you have in common with a person they can relate to you a little easier.
Finding similarities with one another as human beings is the key to learning multiculturalism. Seeing yourself as part of commonwealth of humanity, and the commonwealth of all races and creeds is what will make us stronger as Americans (Boucher, 2010). We are all human and living in America, we should act like it and accept everyone, differences and all. I feel that I live my life and not someone else’s, so why do I care what choices they make, because the choices are not going to normally directly affect me.
Conclusions My diversity philosophy is that everyone has differences, and exposure and education relating to those difference is where acceptance comes from. The United States is founded on pluralism and the Mosaic model. There are many small groups in the United States that make up the larger group that is what we call America. Cultural encapsulation is when you have lack of contact with cultures that are outside your own, this can promote insensitivity to cultural differences (Boucher, 2010).
Getting yourself out in the world and subjecting yourself to other cultures will allow you to accept and embrace diversity more. I feel that my diversity philosophy of embracing and educating differences creates cohesion in people. If people are exposed to more diversity then they can feel more comfortable with and around others who are different than themselves. Civil Rights activists’ came a long way with the movement, UT there is still hard work to be done in America to accept others who are considered different.