Question

1.      Do you believe that Americans may be somewhat more ethnocentric than people in the other Western industrial nations? If so, why might this be the case? If not, why is this widely believed?

2.      In what ways does a degree of ethnocentrism contribute to the positive functioning of American culture? How much is too much? What problems can result from excessive ethnocentrism?

Answer 1

Americans might not be completely ethnocentric. It is more the way that certain sections of society are portrayed in the mainstream media. Every individual in America is a descendant of an immigrant. the only people native to America are the Native Americans. If Americans were as completely ethnocentric, they would not participate in various events of other cultures. For instance, there are a number of parades that are organized for various ethnic groups. People believe America is ethnocentric because the focus very often is primarily on racist bigoted individuals.

A small amount of ethnocentricism can be positive. It spreads a feeling of belonging and oneness among people. It makes people feel like they have something that ties them all together rather than separate them. More often than not excessive ethnocentricism results in some form of violence or the other. At the most extreme in the 21st century, ethnocentricism leads to ethnic cleansing practices.

One of the most prominent examples of the excessive ethnocentricism in history was the Holocaust.