The Values of Cultural Pluralism

The United States prides itself on being made up of many different cultures from all over the world. In my experience, most people in the US talk about how important knowing more than one language is. This makes me wonder why most 2^nd and 3^rd generation citizens only speak English. What is it about our society that makes us lose a little bit of our culture with each passing generation? I know that my grandmother grew up speaking German at home and English at school. So, as most children in her age group she grew up bilingual. When my dad was growing up, my grandmother spoke English to him, although she still spoke German to her parents. By the time I was born, all of the German language and culture of my family has been lost, save for one recipe for German sand cookies that we make every Christmas.

I have noticed the same story is prevalent in my boyfriend’s family history. His grandparents moved to the US from Mexico when his mom was 8. They spoke Spanish to their children, but the kids went to an English speaking school. His mother is fluent in Spanish and English and still speaks primarily Spanish with her mother, but she never spoke it with her kids. Now other than a few years of high school Spanish and a few phrases heard from his grandmother, my boyfriend doesn’t really know much about his family’s culture or language.

I feel like both of these stories are a good example of the way that the U.S. lives up to the Anglo-Conformity Assimilation Theory. People are so worried about becoming “Americanized” that they forget the rich cultures and languages of their roots. In a country that is starting to depend so much on a global market, one would think we would work harder to keep some of these languages going. I understand that since the US is made up of people from all over the world we need a universal language, but what I don’t understand is why people have to choose English over their family’s native tongue when it could be easily continued if spoken at home.

I think that the U.S. should start working towards achieving a more open and accepting culture. If we were to work towards Cultural Pluralism perhaps we would not lose all of the customs and traditions our citizens carry from around the world. I think this goal would make our country more able to compete on a global level by helping us communicate with more people around the world and by improving our understanding of the cultures and people we work with. Employers prefer people who speak more than one language and who have traveled or lived outside of the United States. Individuals with a global perspective and experience working with a wide variety of people have a leg up.

On a personal level I think that Cultural Pluralism would help people appreciate what their family has gone through to get where they are. It would also help people to not only pride themselves on being an American, but a citizen of the world. In a country of people from all over the world, we should embrace the cultures of our ancestors.