Multiculturalism Can Be Dangerous. Few Term Paper

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Once again, intercultural resentment begins to manifest as a result of apparent favoritism for the "struggle" and those who were part of it during the 1960's and 1970's. This has become so evident that many prominent colored artists' work has come to be referred to as "victim" art. This of course does nothing to alleviate already pronounced racial tensions because of multiculturalism.

The strongest argument against multiculturalism is the already mentioned concept of a national identity. The United States, South Africa and Australia are countries that, like many others, have been colonized by Britain and Europe. Unlike Britain then, these countries were already composed of a variety of cultures when they began to be established as the countries they grew into being today. The difficulty here is that various cultures were brought over from abroad, and a single national culture was difficult to form. Especially in the United States then, the ideal of multiculturalism was originally to provide each culture with "equality" and the sense that it was important in its own right. This equality was referred to as the "salad bowl" of culture, where every flavor was to blend in with every other flavor. The problem is however when cultural ideals differ, division occurs. There is almost no national unity and without unity it is impossible to form a strong national consciousness. The United States for example was so caught up in its salad bowl mentality during 2001 that the country was completely overcome by the terrorist attacks of 9/11. This is also the reason for the national division occurring after these events, and the apparent inability of either the country or the President to reach a single resolution regarding what should be done about the problem of terrorism.

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This is an extreme example of the dangers inherent in multiculturalism. Furthermore, the absence of a national identity pushes individuals back to their cultural roots, which may be harmful for intercultural relations and the development of elements such as art, religion and national cultural depth. Multiculturalism in this way leads to further marginalization, which detracts from national identity and strength.

From the above it becomes clear that multiculturalism entails more drawbacks than strength. Language, art and other elements of culture are the strongest building blocks of a country's national identity. When diversity in these are encouraged, intercultural resentment will necessarily follow, which results in the inner weakness of a country. Greater homogeneity within a country on the other hand would put an end to intercultural prejudice and racial hatred. Everybody would be seen as the same, with the same goals. Cultural roots would remain to be honored and learned from, but not in favor of the single identity that would make a country strong. Multiculturalism could be dangerous in many ways. The events of 9/11 is evidence of this.

Source

Dalrymple, Theodore. (2004) "Multiculturalism Starts Losing Its Luster"

Summer 2004. http://www.manhattan-institute.org/cfml/printable.cfm?id=1653.....

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