Case For Contamination Appiah

In Kwame Anthony Appiah’s essay, the Case for Contamination, Appiah delivers his opinion on society’s growing culture and the effects that have occurred due to society’s growing influence, such influences include the globalization, both political and lifestyle, and cultural preservation aspects of society. Within his standpoint, Appiah offers many valid points on the positive aspects of the development of globalizations and its key role in society. However, despite Appiah’s lengthy essay, his argument lacks sources that support his claims, ultimately causing his views on the subject to stem from personal experiences. Due to this, the essay insufficiently discusses the depth of how damaging globalization is to a cultural, which essentially encourages

One claim Appiah continuously brings up is the fact that this topic of culture focuses too much on the importance of preserving traditions rather than supporting the people, this can be seen in the following quote, “This same Unesco document is careful to affirm the importance of the free flow of ideas, the freedom of thought and expression and human rights -- values that, we know, will become universal only if we make them so. What 's really important, then, cultures or people?”, while he does have a point that it is important to support the individual, ultimately, by supporting the culture, you are not only supporting the individual, but by preserving and putting an importance of the culture, you simultaneously reinforce the foundation of the cultural which in turn reinforces the individual’s family and future generations to come. This support of the culture will allow the mass amount of individuals to be able to express their opinions and cultural norms in a safe and progressive environment where their social norms are accepted and encouraged, while focusing on the individual and their own culture can have negative effects. In an educational study conducted by Mary C. Hayden & Cynthia S. D. Wong, it was observed that the focus of individuals and their culture in education had to be used with caution, “In terms, however, of its claims to promote international understanding and to

Often times this can be seen throughout history, especially in the United States, many cases such as the immigration of the Chinese and Irish back in the late 19th century and early 20th century. When immigrants tried to assimilate into the western culture while still preserving their cultural many were excluded and even faced hardships such as unemployment, homelessness, and in extreme cases even death. In the book, At America’s Gates: Chinese Immigration During the Exclusion Era, 1882-194, written by Erika Lee, examples of the hardships and unwelcoming arms of America to the Chinese and their culture are discussed in a tremendous amount detail. The nature of this act was cruel and did not allow for the Chinese to excel in a land of freedom and opportunity, instead, the act strictly prohibited the Chinese becoming citizens. “The Chinese Exclusion Act, passed in 1882, barred all Chinese laborers from entering the country for ten years and prohibited Chinese immigrants from becoming naturalized citizens.” Correspondingly, this has also occurred in quite a few other cultures, including the Irish, as mentioned before, and a more commonly known example which is the disapproval and genocide of the Native American people and their cultural. These examples show just how in depth the effect of cultural can threaten