It is obvious that the topic of race is one of the most discussed in contemporary society. Millions of people all around the world are trying to prove that skin color does not determine individual personality, worldview, status, or abilities while others are still sure that race brings differences to people that should not be just ignored. In the United States, the problem of racial inequality exists for thousands of years and, unfortunately, still remains unresolved, leading to controversies, conflicts, attacks on innocent individuals, and protests. It can even be stated that racial inequality is an integral part of the American culture and contributes to the creation of the United States in other countries. Therefore, the following paper will explain how racial inequality plays a role in the United States culture.
The first tendency that can be mentioned is that racial inequality creates an environment for conflict in American society. The United States is extremely diverse – the population of the country consists of African Americans, Hispanics, Asian Americans, white Americans, and different kinds of nationalities that come to the country in search of a better life. With the existence of inequality between all these groups and with the creation of both negative and positive opinions about them, society becomes more prone to engage in conflicts. As a result, this problem plays a role in creating a culture where individuals are not able to live in peace with each other. They are much more like to engage in fights and attacks than in a normal respectful dialogue that can lead to at least some kind of a compromise.
In addition, racial inequality has another serious drawback that should definitely be mentioned. It creates a specific environment where certain groups of people receive significant privilege and status while others are treated in a disrespectful and humiliating manner. For instance, “about half of black Americans say that being black has hurt their ability to get ahead, including 18% who said it has hurt a lot” (Horowitz et al., 2019). Thus, people of a minor race create a feeling that only because of their skin color they will not have the possibility to achieve their goals and desires even if they have the needed skills and knowledge. This issue can also be described as having a huge impact on the American culture where it does not matter what you can do but matters what skin color you have.
To summarize, the problem of racial inequality existed for thousands of years; however, it still remains unresolved and extremely relevant in the contemporary world. The United States is not the only country where people of different cultures and nationalities try to live together and establish the desired peace. However, in the example of this country, where there are many different nationalities, it can be seen that racial inequality plays a significant role in establishing a specific culture and creates an environment of conflict and privilege. Thus, the presented paper successfully discussed how racial inequality plays a role in American culture.
References
Horowitz, J. M., Brown, A., & Cox, K. (2019). The role of race and ethnicity in American’s personal lives. Pew Research Center. Web.