Multiculturalism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Multiculturalism - Essay Example The US population includes people of different origins and cultures who follow different religion and traditions. Therefore, evolving a system where various kinds of people live together in harmony becomes essential. The very concept of multiculturalism was brought in by the evolution of such a social system in the USA. A general concept can be framed that the association of many cultural models in civilized communities give birth to a commonly accepted new one in the absence of specific dominance by any of them. In many events, collective immigration to a particular province of the country can also force a situation in which a new culture is forced upon the existing community. The paper named ‘American Identity, Citizenship and Multiculturalism’ which was presented by Diana Owen, the associate professor of political science in Georgetown University in the German-American conference, 2005 mentions a term ‘melting pot’ which was used by the playwright Israel Zangwill to describe the process by which immigrants from different parts of the world came together in the US. This particular term denotes a process through which the distinction of cultures in the country would disappear in the long run by the merging of those distinct cultures into an exorbitant one. We can say that this process has taken place in the US for good though there is a possibility for counter arguments. On the whole, a unique culture has developed in the US subsequent to its long term multiculturalism policies. Modern world’s economic progress is doubtlessly connected to the contributions of multiculturalism in the reconstruction of political structure of many leading nations. The fact that a person of African origin became the president of the USA proves that multiculturalism is effectively working in the nation. It has definitely contributed to the socio-economic uplift and unity and integrity of the states. The 19th century was the period when the rate of immigration to the

A Practical Approach to Overcoming the Omnivore Essay

A Practical Approach to Overcoming the Omnivore - Essay Example The result is that Americans have many choices of processed foods, but they are mostly based on the same crop (corn) resulting in the "omnivores dilemma". But what are the alternatives to a diet of mass-produced food? Does not have to become a hunter or gatherer to resolve the omnivore’s dilemma? With conscious choices and determination to find the origins of one’s food, one can overcome the omnivore’s dilemma and eat a balanced diet. The thesis that Pollan has posed in his book is "we eat by the grace of nature, not industry, and what were eating is never anything more or less than the body of the world" (Pollan 411). It means that we eat because we need to exist as part of nature, and whatever we eat comes from nature. However, if that had been the case, America would not have been faced with the omnivore’s dilemma. Burgers, soda and ice cream are all mass produced in America. It is difficult to distinguish the natural sources of these foods. Pollan describes an American meal as "the myriad streams of commodity corn, after being variously processed and turned into meat, converge... at KFC or Pizza Hut or Applebees" (Pollan 109). To meet this challenge, Pollan has decided to investigate a meal he has prepared for a group of people and discovered that it is not just industrialization that is on trial. The food producing chain of various farms and industries, to the supermarkets that sell them and the media that airs so-called intelligent nutritional wisdom, all influence the way Americans perceive food. Pollan is of the view that the average American largely depends on fast food for meals and does not care where that food comes from. People eat Subway’s salads because the company markets them as healthy. People eat McDonald’s meals because they are convenient. But what guarantees do people have that the ingredients of these meals come from ethical, healthy or