Defining_Race_and_Ethnicity

When I think about ethnicity, I think about certain cultures separated by their way of life. Life in one culture is significantly different from another regarding: foods, beliefs, religions, manners, clothes, and even time. For example we as Americans are very linear; if we are told to be at a party at five o’clock then we either arrive early or on time. Other cultures on the other hand might show up when ever they want, because they have no regards to certain times. I would classify race as a species of different color or origin. These species have distinct body structures or anatomy that distinguishes them clearly from other races. The two distinct races that have seen quite a bit of history together in the United States would be Caucasians and African Americans. Even though there is still a fragment of racism still occurring in the United States, some Americans are unaware as to the amount of DNA shared inside races. According to Shriver “Any two humans are about 99.9% percent identical in terms of their DNA sequences (Shriver et al. 2005. Human Genomics 2: 81-89).” With this evidence provided, the founders of the Constitution were right to say “We are all created equally.” Ethnicity and Race are important concepts to United States because we are becoming a global economy. Our population as Americans is becoming stagnant. If we look at other cultures and compare their reproduction rates to ours compared in minutes; it is easy to see that we are going to be eventually outnumbered. So we as a country are going to have to understand others cultures. Some behaviors we display, like shaking hands, making eye contact, or even touching may seem harmless to each other; however, can be considered aggressive or impolite to another culture. It would be impracticable and immature of us as a society to tell other cultures to stay out of our country. Us as Americans would be in a great deal of trouble if other cultures responded to us that way. We have relied on the use of foreign objects and materials for quite sometime. Some Americans are benefiting from expanding their companies into other countries too. Therefore, it is all the more imperative for Americans to appreciate and respect other races and their way of life. REFERENCES: (Shriver et al. 2005. Human Genomics 2: 81-89)