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Race through the Years There is an assumption that race has changed in the last fifty years in America. Indeed, the past dozens of years introduces plenty of changes in the modern United States's tincture. The so-called cold war has finished, computer and telecommunications revolutions begin to transform economy into more stable and more sustainable structures, there are some changes brought into the lifestyles of the U. S. citizens. Apart from that new waves of immigration made American society more culturally diverse, and made a significant contribution into the issue called by one of the scientists the first universal nation in the world (Cose, 1997).
Further evolution of the United States of America on the basis of its strengths and weaknesses related to race issues became the hearth of these rapid changes. Racial and ethnic aspects played an important role, as these aspects had great impact on further development and the future of the country. However, ethnic and racial situation in the modern America is inextricably entwined with global economic crisis, which seems to become a real threat to the international security issues. National and ethnic issues should be obviously considered the most important for the U. S. society, especially when they are examined within the framework of the events that occurred during the past few decades.
Ethnic and racial conflicts appear on a regular basis throughout the world, thus making possible to speak about the existence of certain regularity. It should be taken into consideration that national question, as well as the process of change of race through the years in the United States may be examined as the evidence of confrontation of the two tendencies. Both these tendencies are objective, as both of them are accomplished and realized in the actions of millions citizens. The first tendency is related to the nation's desire to achieve self-acknowledgement and independence, while the second one, on contrary, exemplifies the desire to create huge polyethnical communities and formation of powerful super nations, where various ethnic groups, traditions and cultures form the integral whole (Morgan, 2006). Taking into consideration the tendency of changes of "race" through the years, it is difficult to make an assumption concerning which one will be prevailing over the next decades. Yet, it seems that both these tendencies have the aim to overcome all, both new and old, forms of national and ethnic inequality.
To a certain extent it can be referred to as democratization of inter-ethical and international relations, but, despite its advantages, the democratization gives birth to even more complicated issues. For example, while exploring how the race did change through the years, we should necessarily examine America and its part. In this case, the United States represents some sort of an open space for collaboration aimed to facilitate cooperation and interrelations of various ethical communities and races within the frameworks of super-nation. However, the risk of ethical collisions and ethical conflicts appears to be relatively high, and, therefore, may become a preventive factor to the future success and sustainable growth. Current structure of the U. S.
super-nation, with all changes the race undergone through the past decades, in conditions of liberalism expansion provides no sufficient guarantees neither for further development of democratic society, nor for its economic prosperity. At the same time, it seems that the 'melting pot' operates inefficiently if compared to the previous years. Yet, there is an important empirical fact that under the influence of mass immigration from the Asian, Latin American, and African countries the so-called porosity of ethnic space becomes more and more evident, as there appear more or less significant dissemination of Chinese, Korean, Burmese, Vietnamese, Mexican, and other communities (Sanjek, 2001). This fact becomes the issue of primary importance for the further development of racial and ethical relationships within the U. S. community.
Obviously, there are specific examples of these porosities, such as China-towns, where the citizen of U. S. origin had almost no access to. According to the opinion of some researchers, such porosities like China-town became the turning point in formation of the U.
S. nation (America's Chinatown: A Community Plan). Indeed, in the country, there the territory was the main state-formatting element started to appear the territories, where inhabitants had almost no need to speak English, as these were the places where racial and ethical minorities lived. In fact, it became the obvious proof to the fact that the U. S. melting pot failed to cope with the nationalities, whose ethical dominant in self-identification, self-actualization and self-expression was relatively strong.
For example, within the last fifty years China-towns established traditional social structure peculiar to Chinese society, with all distinctive peculiarities and features (Confucianism, the cult of formal and informal authorities, congener priority, isolation, and, finally, criminal triads) (America's Chinatown: A Community Plan). All these features were unable to fit the traditional U. S. system. In case the U. S.
authorities were capable to cope with European criminal structure, no one have ever heard about the successful attempt of the U. S. authorities to control Chinese, Japanese, Burmese, Korean, or Vietnamese criminal structures and criminal groups. In fact, the U. S. authorities are unable to control them effectively, as, due to various racial conditions there is almost no possibility to integrate into their structures.
The subject at issue is also that the very difference lays not only in direct racial features, such as color of skin, or eye size, but rather in something more important, which is inaccessible to the Americans of Asian, or Latin American origin. The logic of development of racial and ethical processes in the United States, similar to the processes that occur throughout the world, may lead to the dusk of segregation related to various ethnic and racial communities. In its turn, it may result in social pathologies able to transform the United States significantly. For example, there is a concern that American may soon become a country with the unmistakably Asian color due to abundance of Asians in the United States (Sanjek, 2001). Nowadays the United States exposes the tendency to become the country, where the percentage of white Americans will be lower and lower with each subsequent year.
It should be also taken into consideration that it was racial and ethical factor that provided a specific shade of color to the U. S. community. As it is asserted by the scientists, among other events and factors that are claimed to stipulate the specifics of American civilization, racial and ethical factor was, arguably, the most decisive one (Cose, 1997). In contrast to other world communities, such as European and others, racial and ethical relations, along with the conflicts at different stages, played an independent, and even a major and decisive role in the U. S.
social environment; moreover, they correlated with social class delimitation but never were subordinated by them. At the present stage of development of the American society racial and ethical factor plays an increasingly important role in social environment. The U. S. sociologists more and more often use the term multicultural (Takaki, 1993) (this term implies, before all, multi ethnicity) while attempting to analyze the modern society in the United States.
This fact serves the evidence to the importance of racial and ethical changes in the U. S. within the past fifty years (Takaki, 1993). Naturally, America has always been a nation of immigrants, however, since the early 1970 s the famous American melting pot seemed to be unable to 'melt' racial and ethical multiculturalism. The increasing diversity of races and ethical groups stipulated social dynamics and tension in the U. S.
society to a greater and greater extent. It is also important to note that the development of multiculturalism is one of the brightest and fundamental events of the American reality (Mc Caa, 1993). Multicultural diversity has many manifestations and, in particularly, it brings awareness to the fact that various racial and ethical communities refuse to accept a certain integral concept of the U. S. society. Along with these worrying issues, the U.
S. does have tolerance in racial and ethical relations. National tolerance and respect for each other are really amazing. Yet, the U.
S. society's tendency for racial and ethical segregation is obvious. The contrasts in conditions and social constraints and tension in relations and communication between the whites and the minorities are significant. The statistic data also shows different results concerning multicultural and racial segregation aspects. Although the U. S.
society claims to be the multicultural society, where all races and colors are welcomed, only 5 percent of respondents answered the question about their ethical origin as Americans, while the remaining part of the respondents related themselves to the specific ethical group (Morgan, 2006). For a lyrical digression, it is interesting to examine ethical groups and their share in the U. S. community.
So, according to the previous survey, the largest ethical groups are German, Irish, English (British), and African-American (where each of the groups makes up over 20 million people). The next seven groups in order of decreasing are Italian, Mexican, French, Polish, Native Americans, Dutch, Scottish-Irish, where each of the given ethical groups make up over six million people. Finally, there are 28 ethical groups of over 1 million people each (Morgan, 2006). During the past twenty five years the United States was almost absorbed in a, probably, the largest wave of immigrants from the time of the end of World War I. From the early seventies onwards over 16 millions of legal immigrants have crossed the U.
S. frontiers. The exact number of illegal immigrants is quite difficult to define; however, it can be told for sure it...
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