English 1102
War on Diversity On September 11, 2001, the attack on the World Trade Center occurred shocking the entire world. This tragic event left a dent across the world as many lives were changed. The Muslim American society was faced with violent outrage and the hatred for their beliefs. Living in America was becoming difficult for many Muslim Americans because they faced racial attacks, hate crime and racial slurs towards them and their religion, Islam. Such acts were happening in a country that was build upon the rights of freedom of belief and diversity. America: a nation built from the differences of people, cultures, and religions was doing the opposite of what the country was known for. From the beginning of America to present day, diversity has existed amongst us and diversity is unavoidable. We interact with people in our everyday lives through school and work, exposing us to different cultures, backgrounds, beliefs and perspectives. America is known as the “melting pot” society. For example, BBS News stated, “Americans take pride in their "melting pot" society, a term coined by an immigrant, Israel Zangwill, that encourages newcomers to assimilate into the American culture” (news.bbc.uk). So, with this exposed diversity, people should be knowledgeable about the variety of ethnicities.
Americans need to increase their knowledge of diversity by the help of education, government advertisement and just the basic knowledge of parents. With these acts, it is possible to teach our younger generations and educate them about respecting, accepting and honoring our diversity filled nation and world because this will decrease the hatred towards different beliefs, cultures, and views; which at the end, will help the world become less violent and stop the stereotypical assumptions. In today's schools, most of the education is focused on learning about past history, science and math. These subjects are significant; however, our school systems should introduce a subject that focuses on teaching children about different kinds of people and cultures that are around them. For example, Banks; the writer of Multicultural Education stated, “Multicultural education is also a reform movement that is trying to change the schools and other educational institutions so that students from all social-class, gender, racial, language, and cultural groups will have an equal opportunity to learn.” (Banks 3). With new subjects like multicultural for example; the children will develop knowledge about the cultures and gain respect towards others who are not like them. Schools can also create events with in the school, such as International festival which gives the students first hand experience and viewing of the culture, food, and the belief of the other ethnicity. Events like these can be a great motivator for students to learn more about others and gain knowledge about all the diversities that they are surrounded by. It teaches the students to accept others and honor their values. By educating the students about other cultures, there will be a decrease in bullying, hatred and racism, as students will be more understanding and accepting. Exposing such cultures at a young age will broaden the horizons of children and teach the children to treat their peers with respect and acceptance of those who are not like them. Schools and education play a key role in spreading the knowledge of diversity; however, that is not enough because our government also places a very important role in every American’s life. The government spends enormous amount of money to protect us, provide services, creating jobs and much more. However, the government also spends trillions of dollars in our military troops for weapons that are used in countries like Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan. The Congressional Research Service stated, “With enactment of the sixth FY2011 Continuing Resolution through March 18, 2011, (H.J.Res. 48/P.L. 112-6) Congress