Synthesis on Race and Ethnicity
With the commencement of the millennium one might think that what is known as the melting pot of the world would interact more smoothly than what is portrayed in the media. We have long lived in a society that is segregated, not because it has gone unopposed, but because no one wants to take on the responsibility of breaking the "Berlin Wall" of segregation. We have, however, come a long way from the kind of segregation that was imparted in our country's fledgling stages, slavery being the number one offense of segregation.A quarter-century ago, race was part of everyday public discourse; today it haunts us quietly, though on occasion - the Rodney King beating or the Simpson trial or Eric McGinnis's death - it erupts with jarring urgency. At these moments of crisis, during these squalls, we flail about, trying to find moral ballast. By then it is usually too late. The lines are drawn. Accusations are hurled across the river like cannon fire. And the cease-fires, when they occur, are just that, cease-fires, temporary and fragile. Even the best of people have already chosen sides (Kotlowitz, 414) To have any race or sect serve another because they believe they are higher and mightier than the other is preposterous
Most are more interested in winning a battle when we need to band together to win the war. By our own nature we, as a society, strive to dominate others and become the "King of the Hill". Why does this occur you might ask? That is a question to be answered only by anthropologists and sociologists; for students do not have the time or inclination to sort through behaviorisms and psychological mumbo jumbo. Many of our youth were taught to stay within their own ethnic groups. All this excitement over ethnicity stemmed, I uneasily sensed, from a past in which their ancestors had been trampled upon by my ancestors, or at least by people who looked very much like them. Perspectives on Contemporary Issues: Reading across the Disciplines, 2nd Ed. In addition, it had begun to seem almost un-American not to have some sort of hyphen at hand, linking one to more venerable times and locales. As William Booth, a Washington Post staff writer, said in his essay "One Nation, Indivisible: Is It History,", "Houses of worship remain, as the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. We can only hope that some day, as Americans, we can learn to accept and share the significant things every ethnic background has to offer. " Then again, with rising minority populations across the country, soon we will all be on a level playing field, speaking the same language and things of that nature.
Common topics in this essay:
King Jr,
Native Americans,
Eric McGinnis's,
King Hill,
Berlin Wall,
War II,
,
Carl Minority,
Washington Post,
Rodney King,
ethnic backgrounds,
cultures ethnic,
indivisible history,
nation indivisible history,
cultures ethnic backgrounds,
nation indivisible,
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Acceptance Essays
