The United States has a diverse culture. The cultural diversity stems from the religious, racial, and ethnic variety that the country has. Some of the aspects that can be used to depict the changes that have occurred in the American population include education, social status, settlement, involvement in politics, and economic factors among people from diverse racial backgrounds. Controversies on the differences between the perceived social image and social reality have been noted. When considering the diversity of the United States, using a single image to explain the social image can be deceiving.

Multiplicity in the Hamilton County has increased due to rapid population growth. The population in Hamilton, Indiana increased by approximately 59 percent between 2000 and 2016, with the percentage of Whites in the population decreasing from about  93% to 85%. The second largest racial group in the county was Asians, followed by Hispanics, and then African Americans. These statistics differ from the overall outlook of the country’s population and percentages of different racial groups. The changes in the mentioned county resulted from the settlement of career professionals in the area.[1] Underrepresentation has also contributed to differences in the assumptions that people have about the current social image and the social reality. Although women are considered the minority group in most career paths, six times more women are working in the state legislature as compared to those who served the same role in 1971. Other factors that characterize the diverse population of people in the United States include education, religion, and socioeconomic status.[2] As such, a single image cannot be used to determine the social reality of the nation.

In the country, the status of one of a few successful individuals in the community fosters the belief that a particular racial group is wealthy. For instance, Asians are thought to have found their success based on their intellectual capacity as compared to other racial groups.[3] As such, they are associated with careers such as aeronautical engineering and mathematics professions and scientific studies. In the same way, the negative images and issues of a specific racial group affect people’s perception of the group. African Americans and Hispanic Americans are commonly viewed as being low-achieving, lazy, poor, and abusive communities. These discernments are commonly based on how the two group are portrayed on the Television and in the film industry.[4] However, the concept is wrong, since numerous African Americans and Asians who are successful.

The social realism of the country can be described as diverse, not only because of racial differences but also based on the other factors such as education, representation in workplaces, and population. The changing composition of different communities that were previously identified based on one racial group offers a similar explanation to the social reality in the country. The same goes for the political scene whereby the composition of political parties has changed over the years. The percentage of African Americans increased from 10% to 12% between 1992 and 2016, while that of Hispanics increased from 5% to 9% during the same period[5]. The shifts in the compositions of races in politics show the differences between social image perceptions and reality. Therefore, single images cannot be used to represent the social state in the country. Single images limit the representation of people in the country. Most of the people categorized as minority groups are taking up more position in the society and changing the social image. The participation of these groups in politics and other social forums challenges the social image perception of most Americans.

 

 

Bibliography

Joo, Nathan, Richard V. Reeves and Edward Rodrigue. Asian-American Success and the Pitfalls of Generalization. 20 April 2016. Accessed 27 June 2018, https://www.brookings.edu/research/asian-american-success-and-the-pitfalls-of-generalization/.

Keating, Dan and Laris Karklis. The increasingly diverse United States of America. The Washington Post. 25 November 2016. Accessed 27 June 2018, Acchttps://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/national/how-diverse-is-america/..

Kurtz, Karl. Who We Select: The Demographics of State Legislatures. 1 December 2015. Accessed 27 June 2018, http://www.ncsl.org/research/about-state-legislatures/who-we-elect.aspx. Web.

Pew Research Center. The changing composition of the political parties. 13 September 2016. Accessed 27 June 2018, http://www.people-press.org/2016/09/13/1-the-changing-composition-of-the-political-parties/. Web.

Punyanunt-Carter, Narissra M. “The Perceived Realism of African American Portrayals on Television.” The Howard Journal of Communications (2008): 241-257. Accessed 27 June 2018, https://library.uoregon.edu/sites/default/files/data/guides/english/howard_journal_communications.pdf.

 

 

[1] Dan Keating and Laris Karklis, “The increasingly diverse United States of America,” The Washington Post. November 25, 2016. Accessed June 27, 2018, ttps://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/national/how-diverse-is-america/

[2] Karl Kurtz, “Who We Elect: The Demographics of State Legislatures,” National Conference of State Legislation, December 1, 2015. Accessed June 27, 2018. http://www.ncsl.org/research/about-state-legislatures/who-we-elect.aspx

[3] Nathan Joo, Richard V. Reeves, and Edward Rodrigue, “Asian-American Success and The Pitfalls of Generalization,” Brookings, April 20, 2016. Accessed June 27, 2018, https://www.brookings.edu/research/asian-american-success-and-the-pitfalls-of-generalization/

[4]  Narissra M. Punyanunt-Carter, “The Perceived Realism of African American Portrayals on Television,” The Howard Journal of Communications, Routledge Taylor and Francis Group, 19. 241-257. 2008. Accessed https://library.uoregon.edu/sites/default/files/data/guides/english/howard_journal_communications.pdf

[5] “The Changing Composition of the Political Parties,” PEW Research Center, September 13, 2016.  Accessed June 27, 2018, http://www.people-press.org/2016/09/13/1-the-changing-composition-of-the-political-parties/