American popular culture : Education, Multiculturalism

Solution Preview

1. What aspects of American popular culture potentially undermine work in the area of human services hope to follow?
American cultural ethos are one of ideals that support individualism and the ability to take initiative and lobby for any cause, if somebody believes in the given cause and is determined to work for it. This attitude is great for life constructive values and dreams or plans for philanthropic work, for public good and for a civil society conscientious of its morals and needs.
But, the same freedom, is a paradoxical and dangerously liberating when it is used to deviate from values and morals which are necessary to live a good and peaceful life. For instance, the debates on being a richer country and being able to work without any expectations, from the countries who we give money to. What are our motives as a stronger country and how much hand there is of corporate America, whose primal value is nothing but more money. This is just one issue in context of doing universal social good, with the belief system we have as a nation of being able to do what we want to do.
2. As we know from this course, we are culturally diverse entities. What aspects of your own diversity greatly impact your cultural competency with other cultural groups or special populations?
Cultural pluralism is a blessing in many ways. Religious scriptures even tell us that God divided us into tribes and different people so that we may know each other better. Given our social establishments in the world in general and in our country, specifically, today, we see that people from different ethnic backgrounds, are coming together and beginning to open up to learning about each others' back grounds. Of course there are always self-righteous and prostylizers around, but, for the most part, with language skills, a French speaking can be friends with a Spanish speaking individual, an Arabic individual can be friends with an African American or Caucasian, an Indian can be friends with a Chinese and so on and so forth. What makes the relationships nested in diversity, so beautiful, is the fact that we are working for a society and in a society that is not secluded and isolated or exclusive of others. It is a ...