People Like Us David Brooks Summary

Oftentimes it is wondered what kind of ramifications slavery has had on American politics and our culture today. Even after a century and a half there are arguments and lectures about the lingering impacts American slavery has left on our society. In the eyes of some Americans, slavery and the civil war never ended. Currently slavery and reconstruction is remembered alongside our problems considering race, color, and history. Although there are many views on this topic, each coin has two sides that can be looked at. Americans need to sit down and consider all of the facts on this subject before forming an absolute opinion on the matter.

The ability for people to look at a situation from a different perspective is vital in today’s globalized society. Diversity is the most important, core attribute we each share that gives us the ability to assess new situations through our diverse backgrounds and upbringings. Unlike Patrick J. Buchanan’s argument in his essay titled “Deconstructing America,” diversity is a necessity in America’s culture as opposed to the burden it is described as. Conversely, Fredrickson 's essay titled “Models of American Ethnic Relations: A Historical Perspective,” illustrated a more precise version of American history that disproves Buchanan’s ethnocentric ideologies. Buchanan speaks of diversity on a narrow, one-way street. His imprecise interpretations

In his essay , David plainly and purposely confronts his audience – which are most likely Americans- with the reality of diversity in The United States . Brooks states such claim, with statements like “people make strenuous efforts to group themselves with people who are basically like themselves” (135), "We don’t really care about diversity all that much in America"(132). And “We are finding places where we are comfortable and where we feel we can flourish. But the choices we make toward that end lead to the very opposite of diversity” (133).

One of America’s many nicknames is the Melting Pot. America was given this nickname due to the variation of people it is home to. Many people who have mainly descended from African, Spanish, Irish, Middle Eastern, Swedish, and German roots live in America. Many of these races have combined; hence the term The Melting Pot. However, the people in America have never lived in true peace. Currently in America, there are white and black supremacists. They have one main thing in common; they believe their race is better than any other. Race cannot be changed or improved. However, people are still judging others for the things they cannot change. According to the Pledge of Allegiance, “With liberty and justice for all.” This means that every

“We don't really care about diversity all that much in America, even though we talk about it a great deal” (Brooks 331). Brooks says that we humans think about diversity more as a racial difference which is true, but it is not all about race, religion or ethnicity. Diversity is about any other things such as hobbies, professions, age. Anything that could make one group different from the other. “When we use the word "diversity" today we usually mean racial integration. But even here our good intentions seem to have run into the brick wall of human nature” (Brooks 332). At the end of the day, since we humans don’t really care about diversity, we end up hanging around people who think like us, or like the same things we like. People live near other people from their same religion or even home country. A good example would be Flushing, NY where many people from China live. Brooks stated “Once they find a town in which people share their values, they flock there, and reinforce whatever was distinctive about the town in the first place” (332). I personally think that even though people swear they love diversity of race and culture their actions show the opposite. I think as long as people respect each other’s decisions, culture and preferences everyone will get along with each other within neighborhoods, work departments,

Do we only care about diversity in America when we’re amongst people of different races? In David Brooks, “People Like Us,” he explores this taboo topic, originally published in the issue of the Atlantic Monthly, 2003. In the first few sentences of the essay he states that perhaps there is somewhere in the United States that there is a really an area where people are diverse (62). But then again he has not ever been made aware of such an area. As Americans we should examine our communities, cities, and close nit circles, in doing so we can create a clearer depiction of what makes us more at ease with persons that we associate with. During his essay, Brooks shares an array of examples that show diversity isn’t as common as one would think.

. Does your neighborhood has a lot of diversity in it? In America there are a few diverse neighborhoods around us, there are not as many as it should be. I believe every city and every state should have more diverse neighborhoods, so that when their child(ren) grow up they would not just be used to living around one culture. That may also cause them to expand their horizon and exploring different countries to learn different cultures and where they came from. Another reason is because some children grow up racists just because they are not used to be around a certain culture. In the movie “what’s cooking” is a great example of what it is like to have a very diverse neighborhood. Even though some people would say there was no diversity in”What’s Cooking”, there was all type of diversity throughout this movie because of the different ways that each family would celebrate a holiday, they all were friends or knew each other, and there was a different cultured family on each corner of the street that they lived on.

Everyday I walk into my English class is the moment I experience an identity crisis. As I approach the entrance to the class, I already detected the dichotomy in the room. On the right side lies the Caucasian students, and on the left, resides the International Chinese students. As the only Asian American in the class, I struggle to select the correct side.

Often times today, people of other racial classes and ethnic groups are experiencing oppression as a marginalized group in society today. Racial biases and culture have become an important issue in mental health due to social constructs, racial stereotypes and racial ideology. As a result, they tend to have an impact human development, racial and cultural identity. Therefore, it has become necessary for counselors to indentify and become fully aware and competent in this area due to the changes our society has undergone in multiculturalism and globalization. Due to cultural diversity, identification of minority groups has led to major breakthrough in the field of multicultural counseling/ therapy (Sue &Sue,2014).

The United State is a multicultural country. It has gone through many changes such as in

The mixing pot America is made up of many different types of people from racist to sexual orientation but why does this matter it shouldn't matter because in the world we live in today there are much bigger task at hand then to debate over women in the workplace where same-sex marriage. a person's a person no matter how small dr. Seuss. this quote is powerful and today's growing society because it shows that everyone is the same and there shouldn't be a difference. division for America should be for our country to come together as one soul body

It is hard for a person to learn and develop something that quickly. Many children have been learning things from school. I think being in college is when students really show what they're good at and still learning and developing their intelligence. The two authors of the books, White Like Me by Tim Wise and Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates, discuss education on their point of view when they experience this during their college years. Coates states, “When our elders presented schools to us, they did not present it as a place of high learning but as a means of escape from death and penal warehousing” (Coates 26). He talks about how education is perpetuating injustice. He thinks that schools are hiding something from the students,

Patrick Buchanan’s essay on the diverse demographics in modern America targets Conservatives and those skeptical about the benefits of diversity, and persuades those people that the pursuit of diversity and equality is self-destructive. Buchanan instills fear into his audience by referencing conflicts that occurred when people of different backgrounds and ideas diverged. Buchanan makes us feel insecure with our government by referencing past empires to prove our democracy will inevitably fail. Finally, by offering data and a logical explanation, Buchanan persuades us that diversity threatens the nationalism and unification that we value so dearly.

In the first chapter, Mayorga-Gallo examines multicultural neighborhoods and their experiences, “This book unpacks the meanings white and non-white residents attach to this multiethnic space and their experiences within it” (Mayorga-Gallo 4). She unpacks interracial relationships in multiethnic neighborhoods by studying an annual picnic in a typical multiethnic neighborhood in North Carolina called Creekridge Park. She guides us (the readers) through the experiences of Black, White, and Latino/a residents. She also includes racial, gender, and age demographic charts to inform the reader. She included demographics to make a point that although neighborhoods are integrated, it does not necessarily mean that that will increase positive interracial relations. Although this is an “integrated” neighborhood, a Black neighborhood resident, Roberta, went to the

Even though “segregation” was a legitimate policy that was eradicated in the 1960’s, racial segregation still happens today. It's declined and isn’t as bad as the 1960's because census data shows that neighborhoods are still racially segregated and there is low diversity rates.