Diversity and the Culture of 'Fitting In' Essay

Diversity and the Culture of 'Fitting In' - Essay Example Two authors, Kenji Yoshino and Kwame Appiah, have recently addressed the problems confronting the diverse world of globalization. While they both advocate the justice and fairness that is due all people, they also have their differences. Yoshino warns that in the attempt to legislate equality, we have institutionalized conformity. In doing so we lose the very characteristics that make us unique. Appiah contends that as human beings we all possess cosmopolitanism, a worldly sense of shared ideals, principles, and moral obligations to our fellow man. From Appiah's point of view, we are more alike than different. Yoshino contends that our differences mark out individuality. Whose school is it anyway Students may wish to be cosmopolitan, and to shrink from their own uniqueness and just try to do their best at fitting in. Yoshino argues that it is the student's responsibility to bring to the experience their own individual outlook, flavor, and thinking. After all, it is the student's scho ol. Yoshino will help the student understand the implications of their culture, while Appiah will aid the student as they evolve from classroom to worldly college graduate. One of the most difficult tasks for any human being is the challenge of staying true to one's self, while fitting in with a diverse crowd. In college, this will be magnified several times over in every situation. We may be tempted to keep our true identity covered, out of fear of discrimination and bias. However, this would not only be unfair to yourself, but it would also cheat the other students out of the chance to experience the real you. We expect it of others and others expect it from us. Appiah speaks to this when he writes, "a deeper answer is that evaluating stories together is one of the central human ways of learning to align our responses to the world. And that alignment of responses is, in turn, one of the ways we maintain the social fabric, the texture of our relationships (29). We search for the common threads that bind us and as we work to build a world of universal civility based on the understanding of our sameness and an acceptance of our differences. We do not be come the same; we merely bring out and celebrate that which is the same. This celebration of the freedom to be unique is one of the ways in which we are all alike. "In practice, I expect the liberty paradigm to protect the authentic self better than the equality paradigm" (Yoshino 191). Women should not strive to be equal to be men, but should have as their goal the freedom and liberty to be women. Being free to be yourself, and not just fit in, in any social setting is the liberty that is the challenge for the college student. When you are free to be your true self, the classroom will present greater opportunities for self-expression and a deeper understanding of the material that is presented. When you know where you stand and where you are going, it is easier to see the effects of culture, bias, and the partiality that is presented in the classroom debates about the past, current events, and future policy. When you look around the campus you will see the future policy makers, the administrators, and leaders that will shape the future. A thorough understanding of the impact of culture and its potential for bias will be invaluable in shaping and contributing to the debate. If we wish to make

Politics and the AIDS epidemic Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Politics and the AIDS epidemic - Research Paper Example The part of the world that is affected worst by HIV infection is the sub-Saharan Africa. As of now, their is neither a cure nor a vaccine for AIDS. Thus, combating the disease is a major challenge for health care providers and biomedical scientists. AIDS and HIV infection represents one of the most public -pressing public health policy and public health problem in the world. Currently AIDS is pandemic and has significant impact on the health care costs. In the current era, HIV infection is considered to be in the end stage of a chronic disease with rapid spread among Hispanics and Blacks (Fox, 1990). Though the disease was first identified in 1981, the mode of transmission of the disease and causating agent was discovered only in 1984. In 1985, detection of the virus was developed and applied to blood transfusions. In 1987, anti-retroviral agents were manufactured and since then there has been constant upgrading of drugs to combat infection, but with no cure or vaccine for the diseas e. Currently, it is estimated that 850,000 to 950,000 Americans are living with HIV infection/AIDS (Kates, 2004). The disease is a national epidemic with severe effect on specific groups like injection drug users, gay and bisexual men, young individuals and racial and ethnic minorities. Currently, it is also increasingly affecting communities which are economically backward and also women. Since the time AIDS was diagnosed for the first time in the United States, the relationships among politics, science and health care policy have changed drastically. In the 1980s, the HIV epidemic's politics were dominated mainly by four interacting factors fear and fascination, individuals involved in the contraction and spread of the disease, endemic problems of the social policy of United States and the impact of scientific knowledge advances on policy (Fox, 1990). During the initial years, politics was considered as inimical for prevention, but not it is considered as central. The main challen ge is to facilitate prevention of spread of the virus through policies that protect the most vulnerable population. During the first decade of the AIDS epidemic in the US, the policies were hostile to several areas of research like sexuality and meedle exchange. The political climate last decade was more sympathetic and effective health policies were not there because of two important issues. One was the issue as to whether efforts towards prevention was to be targeted for high risk populations and high risk geographic areas alone, or, must be broadly based. The other was issue was uncertainty of involvement of democratic participation including various local health departments, federal government agencies and community-based organizations (Bayer, 1997). As far as international politics with regard to HIV infection/AIDS is concerned, World Bank has a major role to play for international health with regard to AIDS pandemic. The bank is mainly responsible for various efforts to combat factors contributing to the AIDS like poverty, in countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America. Initially, several structural adjustment programs which were often criticized by the critics were promoted. These developed several negative consequences and the World Bank, along with International Monetary Fund focused on health related issues. AIDS evoked political response and also government action. It was initially