The catastrophic events observed in the United States on September 11, 2001 marked the start of a new war that still continues to be the polemic center of discussion in the world today. Many economic, business and political methods were changed drastically as a consequence of such massive terrorist attacks against the World Trade Center. New legislations such as the Patriot Act were passed in order to secure the American borders, and the war on terror brought the economic wealth to the floor. Nevertheless, the economic and political agenda was not the only matter that distorted in the United States. A radical change was also observed in the way that American citizens referred to as immigrants, especially those coming from the middle east, and a drastic change of cultural values and beliefs seem to be separating all the different cultures already existing in the United States.
According to an article posted in the NBC news website “Anti-Muslims hate crimes have increased approximately five times more frequent than they were before 2001” (Frumin & Sakuma, 2016, para. 1) It was already witnessed that many Muslim-Americans have been somewhat discriminated before this year; therefore, it is certain that the terrorist attacks would give Muslims a bad taste of reality. Nevertheless, the United States has permitted the entry of multiple middle-eastern countries’ population, throughout the years, following the terror incidents. Many Islamic populations have been granted entry with political asylum statutes and the H-1B work visas program has given the opportunity for big companies such as Microsoft and Amazon to find talent from that side of the world. But, why should the United States continue to allow entry to immigrants from those countries, despite all the most recent critics and protests given by the American population? In the past recent years, citizens of the United States have continued to rally against the rapid growth of Muslim immigration as the country continues to experience a strong cultural separation between them. At the same time, the new presidency continues to make it harder for individuals from those parts of the world to enter the United States. It is evident to notice that this makes it harder for technology companies to fulfill the rapid growth in technology workforce demand while the economic growth of the nation suffers.
Despite all the terrorist events occurring in the United States, I think it’s important to notice a couple of key-points that might help understand the significance of having a cultural diverse American population. The most relevant one, is that the American economic growth is linked to immigration since many immigrants are known to be founders of huge technology giants such as Google and Yahoo; immigrants have different skillsets and diverse cultural principles that “complement the United States Labor force” (Furchtgott-Roth, 2013, para. 18).. Another key point worth noting is the fast-emerging era of globalization. Companies from all around the world are seeking to globally expand and develop partnerships in global markets increasing the economic growth of their nations and ultimately the entire world. With this increase in workforce demand, huge technology companies need to accommodate requisitions that might be hard to find in a slow growing population that, perhaps, might not even have the required skillset needed to increase productivity which, in turn, would eventually increase economic progress. At the same time, a more diverse workforce can enable companies to understand other cultural-different markets facilitating business relationships around the world.
This blog is not meant to take away from the issues of over immigration and illegal immigration being experienced in the United States today; the matters of a needed immigration reform can be discussed entirely in another blog and are most likely needed in order to regulate and improve cultural problems. However, this blog is meant to provide awareness of the importance of having a diverse workforce in today’s world as well as to increase the cognizance of Ethnocentrism, especially against the Muslim-American culture. We must understand that terrorism is going to occur all over the world but the act of some does not account for the prejudice of many. If we see the other face of the coin we can, perhaps, gain a more diverse experience in life that can help us create better business relationships among other cultures which will ultimately improve the economic growth of the world. If we learn to respect and value different points of view and create strong synergy amongst diverse teams, we will create a strong cultural foundation for future generations to follow. It is always important to keep an open mind, free of false prejudice and ethnocentric interpretations, this will help us gain a more geocentric mindset in a globalized world.
Resources
Furchtgott-Roth, D. (2013, February 18). THE ECONOMIC BENEFITS OF IMMIGRATION [PDF]. Manhattan Institute . Retrieved from https://www.manhattan-institute.org/pdf/ib_18.pdf
Frumin, A., A., & Sakuma, A. (2016, September 11). Hope and Despair: Being Muslim in America After 9/11. Retrieved February 25, 2018, from https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/9-11-anniversary/hope-despair-being-muslim-america-after-9-11-n645451
Lichtblau, E. (2016, September 17). Hate Crimes Against American Muslims Most Since Post-9/11 Era. Retrieved February 25, 2018, from https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/18/us/politics/hate-crimes-american-muslims-rise.html
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