American society experiences a new wave of disagreements and debates in the most fundamental topics of American democracy functioning. The two-party system and unprecedented Donald Trump’s victory in the 2016 presidential elections caused new lines of polarization between the Republican and Democrat electorate (Abramowitz and McCoy 137). Migration and diversity issues are some the most discussable topics in modern US political discourse. One side acknowledges that modern US society is diverse, so it needs the introduction of cultural competence policies and principles of equity. The opponents argue that diversity does not exist in the US because it was artificially constructed to make society more ‘politically correct’. In fact, the academic community has an unequivocal opinion that the United States indeed includes many cultures and ethnicities.
Diversity is a much more encompassing term that one may assume. In addition to the existence of such obvious differences as race or ethnicity, diversity considers differences in such social categories as gender, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, age, and so forth. Some people oppose the diversity trends because they argue that diversity contradicts with nation’s cohesion. Indeed, the research interest in the effect of diversity on cohesion is present in contemporary sociological research. For example, Laurence et al. tried to critically evaluate the assumption about the negative diversity/cohesion relation (3). However, Laurence et al. acknowledged that “diversity does not impact all individuals equally and that perceived-threat and prejudice play a key role in understanding when and for whom ethnic diversity affects cohesion” (20). He changes the focus to the role of bias of local citizens that can be mitigated through proper inclusion of other cultures in decision-making and daily intercultural interactions.
The major argument is that the sociological data for 2021 breaks with the idea that diversity is a myth. According to Census Bureau data published in New York Times, “the United States grew significantly more diverse over the past decade” (Tavernise and Gebeloff A1). The most critical finding is that the white population has declined for the first time in history (Tavernise and Gebeloff, A1). The share of the white population has experienced a decline since 1960, with 69% of whites in the US overall population in 2000 to 58% in 2021 (Tavernise and Gebeloff, A1). One can have questions about the ethnic groups that increase in number while the white population declines. Census Bureau reports that Hispanics present almost half of the US population growth over a decade, with a 23% increase in the country’s Hispanic population (Tavernise and Gebeloff, A14). Other crucial trends are the increase in the Asian population up by 36% and the black population up by approximately 6% (Tavernise and Gebeloff, A14). The fall in the percentage of the white population is a matter of time; therefore, government needs to acknowledge the increasing complexity of the American population.
However, the opponents of the assumption that the US is diverse claim that “diversity” is a myth created to sustain ‘political correctness’. This kind of view is quite similar to some constructivist claims. In other words, the opponents argue that diversity is a social construct that has not to be addressed. Such a view has relevance, and even the academic community discusses such unintuitive ideas. For example, Nyborg evaluated the claims that “race is a social construct” and objections that the research on race is a pseudoscience (139). As for diversity, some groups claim that there should not be any measures implemented toward the non-existing phenomenon.
Nevertheless, all the sociological data and academic research demonstrate the validity of the claim that diversity is a key component of American society. Firstly, according to Pew Research Center, 77% of Americans indicated that their country has become more diverse over two decades (Poushter and Fetterolf). It explains that the idea that diversity is a myth is not common among US residents. Secondly, if the issues related to diversity are not addressed, there will be some instability in such areas. Wright et al. analysed different areas in the US where the population is diverse and concluded that “we find a high degree of instability among our set of highly diverse tracts” (14). However, authors found Sacramento as a place where high-diversity tracts are stable (Wright et al. 14). It encourages the research community to do research on the factors that make highly diversified more stable. Some possible factors can be consociational local legislatures, cultural competencies at hospitals and schools, the creation of common local identity and so forth. The discussion above confirms the idea that without the proper response, the diverse regions will experience instability.
To sum up, it is incorrect to view diversity as a myth that was created to achieve some alternative goals. In fact, diversity is a crucial aspect of American society that should be addressed by experts. If authorities and society do not consider the diversity of the country as a real fact, the situation in diverse regions will escalate and cause conflicts. Therefore, it is crucial to acknowledge that the US is a multicultural country because such firm understanding will help the society to become more inclusive and tolerant.
Works Cited
Abramowitz, Alan, and Jennifer McCoy. “United States: Racial Resentment, Negative Partisanship, and Polarization in Trump’s America.” The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, vol. 681, no. 1, 2019, pp. 137-156.
Laurence, James, Katharina Schmid, and Miles Hewstone. “Ethnic Diversity, Ethnic Threat, and Social Cohesion: (Re)-Evaluating the Role of Perceived Out-Group Threat and Prejudice in the Relationship between Community Ethnic Diversity and Intra-Community Cohesion.” Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, vol. 45, no. 3, 2019, pp. 395-418.
Nyborg, Helmuth. “Race as Social Construct.” Psych, vol. 1, no. 1, 2019, pp. 139-165.
Poushter, Jacob, and Janell Fetterolf. How People Around the World View Diversity in Their Countries. Pew Research Center, 2019, Web.
Tavernise, Sabrina, and Robert Gebeloff. “U.S. Grew More Diverse During the Past Decade.” The New York Times, vol. CLXX, no. 59 149, 2021, p. A1, A14.
Wright, Richard, et al. “The Instability of Highly Racially Diverse Residential Neighborhoods in the United States.” Sociology of Race and Ethnicity, vol. 6, no. 3, 2020, pp. 365-381.