Cultural Imperialism and the Homogenization of the Western World

TheBig3 · 03-12-2010, 02:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by duga

I agree with a lot of what you said, but I just want to point out there is a big difference between a country claiming it is "melting pot" and actually being one. Sure, people from all over the world immigrate here, but are generally expected to live out life as an "American". I hear way too often that Mexican immigrants need to learn to speak "American". The general population of this country is not concerned with other cultures in the least, save for the few open minded folk I meet.

That being said, I think the language argument is the least of our problems. I think having a global language will do nothing but help...it needs to happen, in my opinion. Maybe some people are upset that that language may be English, but that is just the way history went. What is dangerous is the business and economics side of things. American companies expand into foreign markets and as a result, many cultures are diluted.

I don't mean this as a jab but no one is accusing Indiana of being a melting pot. You're too far in there. But America certainly is. And while some demand "Mexican immigrants speak American" you're talking about a smaller group of people there that are likely frustrated, and unaware of their own ignorance.

If they say "talk American" then I don't know what to say other than they don't know the rules of, nor the name for, the language they want to Nationalize. While I think it would be smart to learn a language if you're going to live in that country, I'm not worried about it since english is more easily picked up by the generations that follow.