The Cultural Blending of America

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</p><p>This election has brought out the worst in all of us. Our fears, our hatred, even the simplest gestures, of common decency on Facebook, have shriveled away. We have witnessed as part of the 2016 Election, the very devolution of America. We have taken the role of the “American,” and parsed into several little pieces: Women, Latinos, White Men, Muslims, etc. What was the once civilized exchange of ideas has morphed into an ugly separation of sub-cultures wherein the very idea of America is lost.</p><p>

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</p><p>The very premise of America started when our forefathers sought to make a better life for themselves in a new place with none of the cultural and religious edicts from England were forced upon them. Their very desire was freedom. That was the most basic. Freedom to be who they chose to be. Fast forward 240 years, and instead look at what we are offered and shown. Control. Our election today is all about who can control who we love, what we pray, and how we can handle our own bodies. </p><p>

</p><p></p><p>How did we get here? Even that does not matter. We are here now. How do we fix it? How do we take the current America that we are all living in, in 2016, and not just the freedom that our forefathers demanded, but also take the greatest benefit from the cultural cauldron that we now live in? Surely, a group of people, all with different religions, all different cultural viewpoints, varied upbringings, diverse ethnic traditions, can drive to an immense shared glory. It has been proven that progress happens when people who think differently are forced to work on the same problem. Their perspectives make all the difference.</p><p>

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</p><p>How do we harness that diversity? And I don’t just mean hiring a certain type of person for a job. What I mean is actually understanding a different culture. How can we, living in America, make the greatest step towards harnessing that diversity…by actually living it! </p><p>I will give you my own example. If you heard me on the phone, you would think I was “American,” just from my accent. However, like everyone out there, I am a certain “color,” of skin. I won’t tell you if I’m white, blue, or green…. but I am a certain color by which immediately upon looking at me, there will be certain prejudices. Not good or bad.</p><p>

</p><p></p><p>But just think of it as a veil that covers your eyes, and you will always see that color veil first whenever you speak to me. In fact, I’m pretty sure it will cloud all of our initial interactions, whether you do it subconsciously or not. And if at first, you don’t notice this veil right away, you may only notice it when you hear me talking about the holidays I celebrate or the place of worship that I attend, and again, the veil will preside.</p><p>

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</p><p>But how often do I get asked if someone can learn about my culture? Almost never. And that’s where I see the real opportunity. That’s where I see where the cauldron that we live in is more like oil and water, than it is a blended shake. Living in Houston, where access to so many cultures is extremely easy, when was the last time that&amp;nbsp;I attended another cultures’ function or place of worship just out of curiosity, just for sake of learning, just to be aware?&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Not for some time.</p><p>

</p><p>And now, I can thank this election for opening my eyes to it. Where so many people are dropped in baskets of “x, y, or z,” I realized that the way to make America stronger is not by abolishing those individual cultures, but rather making them broader, more ubiquitous, more welcoming for all.</p><p>

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</p><p>We can thank retail for driving our holiday spirit in such an immense way that everyone, regardless of their heritage, knows about Christmas. They know about the trees, and presents, and decorating your house. It is a holiday that has become ubiquitous, and widely accepted. Is it fathomable to do the same for such holidays as Hanukkah or Diwali, or Ramadan? Wouldn’t it be more fun if we could, as Americans, broaden our understanding of these holidays? </p><p>

</p><p></p><p>The responsibility lies not only in each of us, but in our community to support such an outreach. It is up to the community to want to create such an integrated culture, and drive to maximize the knowledge so that it’s just as acceptable to see a Muslim at a Church, as it is to see a Christian at a Diwali celebration, or a Hindu at a Synagogue. That is cultural blending. It takes America to a place of not being a cauldron of oil and water, but rather a beautifully blended mélange of adopted cultures, all of them as our own. All that carry one single ideal: the respect of the American flag, and the freedom that it stands for.</p><p>It may be a stretch, but so was the very concept of America when it was first born.</p>