Today, people celebrate many diverse cultures here in the United States with celebrations, clothing, and traditions. This leads to the question, is it appropriate to celebrate other cultures different from our own? In a country as diverse as the United States, we need to participate, honor, and learn about other cultures as it fosters unity and allows us to see different perspectives.
Celebrating other cultures gives us a glimpse into other people’s ways of life, leading to a new point of view on our own lives. By interacting with other cultures, we can escape being sheltered and discover a fresh perspective on our lives. In the Erasmus Mobility program, which offers training, volunteering, or studying opportunities abroad, scientists recorded that students increased their communication and other soft skills contributing to higher levels of confidence resulting from participating in other cultures. Interacting with other cultures also resulted in students reevaluating the challenging aspects of their lives due to changes in their adaptability and priorities. As a result, these students were able to learn about other people’s way of life and incorporate it into their own, allowing them to face challenges differently.
Engaging in diverse cultural traditions also creates unity between people by eliminating stereotypes. Since cultural practices display the unique aspects of any identity, we can learn to acknowledge and embrace these differences instead of adopting stereotypical mindsets by attending cultural events. Without this engagement, history has exemplified how people adopt negative mindsets when they encounter people of other origins and know little about their identities. For example, European settlers exhibited similar ignorance when they regarded the Native Americans as inferior due to cultural and physical differences. Ignorance made the colonists view Native Americans as beasts and savages. However, people can appreciate their differences and connect with others when they start participating in others’ cultures. This understanding leads to the acceptance of different people in the community, giving way to more equality in society. When the European settlers learned from the Native Americans and adopted aspects of the Native American survival techniques and traded with them, the settlers viewed them in a more favorable light and treated them as such.
However, some may argue that this counts as cultural appropriation. Many have appropriated other cultures by using them for personal gain, often social, while claiming they were appreciating them. As a result, this can offend people from the culture. When Ariana Grande promoted her brand using Japanese characters, she was appropriating Japanese culture because the message itself was incorrect and she was using it for her personal gain. As a result, she has offended many of her Japanese fans and the online Japanese community.
Wearing another culture’s clothing can be another form of appreciation if they are worn respectfully and with permission. For cultural clothing like Flamenco dresses, wearing them can create a more engaging experience for the participants as people can appreciate the dress’s various intricate designs. However, some people believe that wearing clothes of other cultures is cultural appropriation, as when some fashion critics and a professor of African Arts found Madonna’s accessories insulting because they were from the Amazigh tribe. Other people have a different opinion on people wearing cultural clothing as Addi Ouadderrou told NPR, “If someone comes to Morocco and wants to wear our clothes, to me, that’s an honor; that’s not an insult”. If they are worn in a cultural setting, it is more accepted than when wearing them casually without a cultural incentive since wearing cultural clothing casually can be seen as taking advantage of the culture. Wearing another culture’s clothing is a thin line to walk, so it is best to get permission to wear the clothing beforehand.
Celebrating other cultures benefits people by encouraging unity and expanding perspectives. It allows people of different origins to understand each other and potentially gain a new outlook on their own lives. As long as people do not use another culture for personal gain and only have the intention of learning, honoring, and appreciating another culture, it is essential for them to partake in cultures that are different from their own.
