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]

^ What kind of culture does America have? I don't mean to be offensive; I just feel uneducated on the subject. I always thought the whole country was made up of immigrants. At one point or another, your ancestors came from another country. It's wrong to look down on other people just because they weren't born there.

How come Canadian people accept something they "don't understand", and Americans can't?

This is mostly based on what I've heard from friends living across the border.