Hispanic Culture and its Influence on American Culture
One of the minority groups in the United States is Hispanics. They are regarded as the greatest minority group to call the United States home. However, there are more Hispanics in Mexico than in the United States. In terms of culture, the Hispanic culture is well-established in the United States. The level of integration between Americans and Hispanics has significantly improved the widespread. Over the past few years, there has been a steady and ubiquitous blending of Americans and Hispanics. It is widely acknowledged that Hispanic culture has a significant influence on American culture. Despite the fact that there might be other discrepancies between Hispanics and the other groups about the impacts of their culture, Hispanics played a major role to influence the culture of the U.S (Glum, 2014).
The Influence of Hispanics on American Culture
According to the Ozan (2012), Hispanics have a 75% impact on the culture of American citizens. The report precisely demonstrated that the food culture is mainly about 90% of the non-Hispanics due to the various prominent effects on the people. The music of Hispanics was considered second in the general influence on the culture of the American citizens. Nevertheless, there have been some distinctions between the Hispanics residing in McAllen Texas, Miami, and New York. In addition, the Hispanics have a great impact on the American sports culture. Baseball is a sporting activity that was initiated by Hispanics and greatly affected the sports culture of American citizens. In addition, the culture of the Hispanics is considered to rank highly due to the fact that it influenced the clothing, appearance and style, and beauty standards by 61%, 62%, and 64% respectively. The 61% representation indicates the influence of the Hispanics on the culture of the American citizens in all the aspects of materials used in clothing. Biculturalism is considered by 90% of non-Hispanics as a good thing. Besides, the cultural diversity of the Hispanics enhanced the strong trade associations with the other nations through the use of English (Glum, 2014).
Hispanic Attitudes Towards Pluralism and Assimilation
The Hispanic people had divided opinion on whether to agree to pluralism or assimilation. According to a report by Washington Post (2015), it was established that majority of the Hispanics did not want to change their religion, culture, and names. Nevertheless, they eventually maintained religion due to the fact that it was a vital part of their society. There were also intermarriages between the Hispanics and non-Hispanics. Majority of the Hispanics supported the argument that intermarriages with other non-Hispanics were influenced through assimilation. About 54 percent of the Hispanic people wished to gain American citizenship, however, they did not wish to change their ethnicity. In addition, 70% of the Hispanics did not want to change their ethnic names. Alternatively, 51% of the Hispanics accepted to be referred to as Latin Americans, however, not Americans. 53% of the Hispanics felt that the Anglos discriminated against them. Majority of the Hispanics never supported endogamy hence decided to marry individuals from other cultural groups (Glum, 2014).
The Importance of Cultural Identity for Hispanics
The Hispanics opted not to change their ethnicity and affirmed that the justification to maintain their culture was actually not based on the social, economic, and political status. The characteristics of the native Hispanic culture are transformed through acculturation. As a result, they continue to become more symbolic as a tool that drives the social and economic interests. In addition, ethnicity was considered vital due to the fact that it constitutes an effective tie and effort. According to the Hispanics, they wanted to have the freedom of carrying out their day to day activities without being influenced by other individuals. The urge to gain their freedom led to the argument that the majority culture in America is not discriminated. The culture of the Hispanics wanted to carry out efficient plans in order to allow prosperity in society. The Hispanics had a great interest in planning for their future leading to their rejection. As a result, unity was very essential to them (Glum, 2014).
The Role of Bilingual Education in Maintaining Hispanic Culture
The people of Hispanics wished that their cultural patterns did not change and supported bilingual education during their participation in the culture of Americans. The Hispanics required to establish educational institutions in order to ensure that their Hispanic nature did not change. This would help to maintain the pluralistic culture of the Hispanics (Vargas, 2011).
The Impact of Hispanics on American Society
The idea of pluralism in the culture of Hispanics is still sustained due to the fact that bilingual education has provided an opportunity for the economic and social growth of the adults. In addition, the increasing Hispanic population and being permitted to vote in America made it a political group that had the authority to fight for their freedom and rights against the majority population in the United States. The bilingual education of Hispanics also established job vacancies such as bureaucrats, researchers, administrators, and administrators at various government levels. The Hispanics would like to become American citizens, however, they do not wish to lose their cultural identities (Hayes-Bautista, 2017).
Racism and Discrimination Faced by Hispanics in America
America has had a great issue of ethnocentrism since many colonial eras ago where the majority of citizens could not be able to elect an individual from the same ethnical background. Nevertheless, there are various changes that have occurred where the minority candidates could not be elected to government positions. The ethnocentrism theory, pioneered by William G. Summer at the start of the twentieth century, claims that the majority of the society recognizes all the minority groups with negative attitudes. This is the main reason why mainstream Americans dislike minority groups or have feelings towards the minorities. According to the ethnocentrism theory, it does not discriminate, however, it establishes the boundary that exists between the minority and the majority. Research has indicated that Americans had little dislike for the Hispanics when compared to the other minority groups. African-Americans and Hispanics are the two most discriminated ethnic groups. In order to illustrate the level of discrimination against the Hispanics, it was established that the number of Hispanic students that had graduated from high school was below 30% in 2011. Majority of the Hispanic citizens live below the poverty level. They also experience discrimination at workplaces. According to a study carried out by Rutgers University, it indicated that 22% of Latino employees in America had experienced workplace discrimination. This is higher than the 6% of the whites who also had experienced workplace discrimination (Hayes-Bautista, 2017).
The Challenges Faced by Hispanics in America
The study precisely demonstrated that the majority of Latinos were discriminated against than Native American citizens. Therefore, the majority of Latinos who worked in a discriminatory work environment experienced depression. Depression might eventually have led to bitterness, low self-confidence level, and death. It was also observed that the high dropout rate from school was common among Hispanics aged 16 to 24 years old. Besides, inadequate health condition presented another serious challenge to the faces of many Hispanics. About 30% of Hispanics did not get any sufficient health care coverage. Lack of specialized healthcare professionals also contributed to a decline in population due to increased mortality rates. A law was established in the State of Arizona that was supposed to examine the immigrants who unlawfully enter the U.S. Nevertheless, racism is still a major issue that is still experienced by Hispanics in America (Hayes-Bautista, 2017).
Efforts to Overcome Racism and Discrimination
Racism towards Hispanics is basically being practiced by the American government. There are other professionals who anticipate that racism and discrimination might prevent young Hispanic citizens from accomplishing their professional objectives. Whereas there is a close race relation between Hispanics and Americans, the Hispanics are still hopeful about resolving the issue of racism (Vargas, 2011).
The Contrasting Assimilation of Hispanics and Other Immigrants
Compared to other immigrants who previously entered the United States, Hispanics actually demonstrated slow assimilation. This was attributed to the fact that Hispanics did not want to change their ethnic culture. As a result, they united and formed a strong group both economically, politically, and socially. Nevertheless, the desire of Hispanics to learn English increased greatly even though they still maintained their ethnic culture as a vital part of their society. Besides, the Hispanic group understood English very faster compared to Mexicans and Asians (Washington Post, 2015). English is the official language in the U.S; however, Latinos do not believe that it is the official language. Based on religious issues, the whites are less, even though they do not work hard to address such religious issues. Hispanics prefer Spanish to English as the official communication language. Majority of Hispanic children born in the United States is able to communicate in English. Hispanics are considered by Americans as vital assets to them due to the fact that they put them under the hard labor activities even though there are no complaints from Hispanics. There are also other American people who appreciate the maintenance of Hispanic identity (Vargas, 2011).
Challenges Faced by Hispanics in Assimilation
A slow rate of growth in the mobilization of resources and economy has been attributed to the failure by Hispanics to imitate American culture. In addition, nonassimilation has assisted Hispanics to be very popular and acknowledged by the U.S government. There is no any American citizen who can actually describe the assimilation of Hispanics. Hispanics are the only group that can offer the perfect response to their assimilation since they are the main target group. According to a study carried out by the U.S Census Bureau of Statistics, it established that Hispanics are racial groups that have members of all ethnic groups. The majority of Hispanics do not prefer their racial classifications. Besides, they believe that Hispanics have never incorporated the culture of American citizens. For instance, 56% believe that they should maintain their Hispanic culture since the U.S government normally considers Hispanics as whites when they collect data. Nevertheless, about 20% of Hispanic people perceive themselves as white. It is also important to note that Hispanics living in America perform much better than those living in their Native country. This is in spite of the rising anti-Hispanic campaign in the U.S. The majority of Americans believe that Hispanics only migrated to the U.S because of political and economic reasons. Besides, it is also vital to note that there is discrimination among Hispanics; however, they usually presume that Americans are the source of discrimination (Vargas, 2011).
Assimilation and Political Ideologies Among Hispanics
The Hispanics born and raised in the U.S are not much aware of racism than the Native-born Hispanics. The research proposed that Hispanics worked very hard and earned money hence they acknowledged that they were being discriminated against by Americans. As Hispanics worked hard and earned a lot of money, they started to become the Native-American citizens. They are actually considered to be more liberal than the whites based on political ideologies hence leading to the high prospect of creating liberalization and mistrust in the United States. The immigrants of the Hispanics did not agree to the acts legalized by the American government that were associated with divorce, homosexuality, and abortion. Hispanics believed that a husband was the head of the house hence should make any final decision. Nevertheless, the whites are considered to be more liberal in marriages (Vargas, 2011).
Health Challenges for Hispanics in America
The Hispanics born in America are very liberal on family issues compared to the immigrants. Various researchers have reported that the majority of Hispanics emanate from other nations where there is a lack of trust between individuals. Such kinds of countries do not have social capital hence it becomes a serious challenge for Hispanics to accomplish a particular project. It can be very hard for Hispanics to assimilate since the majority of the American-born Hispanics do not have better health habits compared to other Hispanic immigrants entering the U.S. This is the main reason why American-born Hispanics abuse drugs, drink more, they eat a lot and are very fat. The poor eating habits might result in obesity because of a lack of workout. In addition, poor eating habits might also result in an increased rate of mortality among Hispanics. In addition, there is also an increased rate of intermarriage with Native Americans when Hispanics stay for many years in the U.S. The intermarriage between Hispanics and Native Americans demonstrates their level of assimilation into American society (Vargas, 2011).
Cultural Diversity and Multiculturalism
The idea of integrating Hispanic culture into American culture did not recognize that immigrants do not disregard their cultural identities. Hispanics' life embraces diversity and multiculturalism in every aspect. The majority of American researchers have accepted the idea of multiculturalism. In addition, learning institutions also foster cultural diversities in primary and secondary schools in America. The cultural diversity in America will assist the U.S and students. It is essential to accept cultural diversity to enhance nondiscriminatory and harmonious living in society (Vargas, 2011).
The Influence of Beliefs and Discrimination on Assimilation Efforts
The concept of belief influenced the effort of Native Americans to assimilate Hispanic culture. The U.S is a country where individuals from various social, cultural, racial, and political backgrounds meet and unite. The transformation of multiculturalism to become law resulted in numerous conflicts with Hispanics since Hispanic culture was essential in uniting the country. There is a high level of discrimination of Native Americans because other people are immigrants in terms of healthcare, housing, and employment. Hispanics living in the U.S face high danger due to the level of discrimination from Americans (Hayes-Bautista, 2017).
References
Glum, J.(2014). Hispanics In America: Latinos’ Optimism About Racism Tied To History, Could Change In Future. International Business Times. Retrieved 18 November 2017, from http://www.ibtimes.com/hispanics-america-latinos-optimism-about-racism-tied-history-could-change-future-1761697
Hayes-Bautista, D. E. (2017). America Defines Latinos. University of California Press. doi:10.1525/california/9780520292529.003.0001
Ozan, K. (2012). How Do Americans Perceive Minorities?. Public Religion Research Institute. Retrieved 18 November 2017, from http://publicreligion.org/2012/07/how-do-americans-perceive-minorities/#.VfaeJ25x8dU
Vargas, A. (2011). Redistricting 2011: California Latinos Face New Opportunities and Old Challenges. California Journal of Politics and Policy, 3(3), 1-4. doi:10.5070/p2d59w
Washington Post. (2015). Hispanic immigrants are assimilating just as quickly as earlier groups. Retrieved 18 November 2017, from http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonkblog/wp/2013/01/28/hispanic-immigrants-are-assimilating-just-as-quickly-as-earlier-groups/
