Multiculturalism and "our" World

In the first article, Samuel Taylor speaks to the idea that schools today aren’t teaching history the way it used to be taught. Better yet, they can’t. I’ve never really thought about Mr. Taylor’s point of view on this, but I find it very interesting. Everything he says about history books and how they have tried to be “inclusive” makes perfect sense to me, I just never thought much about it. It’s all a bit daunting if you ask me. The idea that pretty much everything has occurred here in the United States can be viewed as either a triumph or a tragedy seems a little overwhelming to grasp, at least for me. It sounds to me like it could all end up causing some kind of civil war, at least figuratively, if history begins to be viewed this way. In my opinion, history is just that, history. Some of what happened we aren’t proud of, but some of what happened we are very proud of. I’m not proud that white people owned slaves, but I’m proud that slavery existed so that we could all come to learn about Booker T. Washington (among others). Without slavery, as horrible as it may have been, Booker T. Washington may not have been driven to be the person he became. Agree with him or not, Mr. Taylor presents some very interesting thoughts on our history and multicultural differences.

In the article “Pithissippi Burning: Race, White Nationalism and American Culture,” PJ Tobia speaks of something that some people (I didn’t) probably didn’t know existed, “The Brigade.” According to Tobia, “The Brigade,” an internet novel by H.A. Covington, is part of a group of writings that found The Northwest Homeland. The Northwest Homeland is the idea that white people take over three states in the northwest and pretty much form their own nation with no regard for the United States as it stands today, it’s military, governmental structure, or citizens. Although this is real, at least the concept, I have a hard time believing that it could ever really happen. I know there are extremists out there that believe this could happen, and they may even be trying to make it happen, but it’s all a little far-fetched for me. As an educator, I am personally excited to see the advancement of other races in this great country. To me, it shows some of the successes of the school systems here in the United States. Most of these kids from other cultures were, at some time, a part of the education system of this country, and to a degree, owe their success, at least in part, to their teachers throughout their years in school.

Maybe I don’t know enough about multiculturalism, or maybe I’m ignorant of too many points of view about multiculturalism, but the author of “Why Multiculturalism is Wrong,” in my opinion, is a bit extreme. I know some of what they say is fact, but so much seems so extreme to me, I can’t get my head around the possibility that it really does exist. I did, however, find one of the ideas a little intriguing. At one point, the author speaks of how a multicultural society “oppresses migrants.” He goes on to say that people from other cultures maintain their same culture whenever they arrive in a multicultural society. I take this to mean, that if a person from another culture arrives in a multicultural society (not unlike the US), they would be able to continue their previous culture there. Meanwhile, if they arrive in a mono-cultural society, maybe like the Netherlands that the author speaks of, they would have to adhere to the cultural beliefs of the culture in place in order to be able to stay there. Personally, I believe that diversity is part of what makes the education system in this country so great. Differing points of view help mold young minds and hearts to be accepting to different perspectives, thus creating a better nation, one culture at a time.