Multiculturalism. Options

[radhikaeatsraman]

Multiculturalism is a public policy approach for managing cultural diversity in a multiethnic society, officially stressing mutual respect and tolerance for cultural differences within a country. [1]

Do multicultural policies really help nations such as Canada & Australia? Is the "melting pot" policy really working for the United States? Is it more beneficial to promote assimilation and nationalism rather than multiculturalism?

Personally, I quite like Canada's multicultural policy and feel that the US should adopt a similar one. Being from an immigrant family, I've seen how the "melting pot" model can hurt someone's ability to learn about their original culture & develop a strong cultural identity. The culture can be lost within one or two generations. It is an everyday struggly to communicate and relate with some of my relatives because of my identity as an Indian-American. (An American with family from India.)

By implementing multicultural policies along with teaching in a common language and encouraging immigrants to get involved in the local labor force, we can help people retain their cultural identity & operate adequately in the society they live in at the same time.

Discuss.

[AngelinaTaylor]

Well.. let me put it this way.

I live in Canada. My cousin lives in the States. We're both originally from Bulgaria. I feel at home in Canada, and he doesn't feel at home in the States. When I came here, my chemistry teacher was talking about how we're all Canadian. I said I wasn't, and asked me how long I've been living here and I said "A few weeks." Then she replied, "Oh well, you're one of us now!"

In the States, I don't think immigrants are accepted like that. At least that's what I hear from my cousin. Even his 12-year-old daughter is looked at differently. I don't know, is that true? Do you guys distinguish immigrants so much? Because here, Canadians accept me pretty much like another Canadian.

Yes, I do think multiculturalism is a good thing. Definitely. Because think about it - someone from your family must've been an immigrant. How do you think you got here?