Quote:
Originally Posted by lio45
Sure, they have their own cultural quirks, but culturally (in the grand scheme of things) they're pretty solidly "American". They'll watch football not soccer, they won't cook weird exotic food at home, they don't speak foreign languages, they won't attend churches of strange religions or denominations, etc.
Such a place as I described is a lot less "culturally diverse" than you'd think at first sight, based on the stats on paper.
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First of all, who gets to decide the criteria for "weird exotic food"?
Secondly, if these cultural criteria of diversity meaning increased deviation from what one considers a "norm", are used, whatever that may be, then such differences can be completely independent of being native-born or not, of ancestry or not, and therefore be hard to measure. I agree that they count for cultural diversity, and thus diversity in general, but it's hard to capture.
For example, imagine that you have a community of people, all native born, who have never left their country and thus have not been exposed to international cultures outside their small town. Then, suddenly, all these people decide to travel abroad for several years and return to the US, and bring with them all kinds of new ideas, lifestyles and ways of doing things. For example, they learn to cook the recipes they learned abroad, or listen to music they heard there, or keep in touch with friends they made there and the international ties stick, though no immigration happens. Imagine that it's the same people who return. The stats will not change. The race of the people are the same, the foreign-born population has not increased. But you could argue cultural diversity has increased.
Another example, hypothetical again, imagine lots of native-born people (of any race) change religions in a way that increases religious diversity (eg. imagine lots of white Americans convert to Hinduism without ever leaving the country). That would increase cultural diversity too, but with no change in ancestry, race or foreign-born figures.
Or imagine, every single American learns a second language he or she has never known before. Now linguistic diversity has doubled by some measures. Again diversity increases with no immigration or foreign influence.