Criticism of Multiculturalism

Out of curiosity, I decided to read a wikipedia article on multiculturalism. One of the sub-articles that caught my interest was the criticisms against multiculturalism.

I could perfectly understand the criticisms, because I knew that no matter how open people are, we will always be uncomfortable accepting a culture that is completely different from our own, including practices, thoughts, and rituals that we may find morally repugnant. This is in addition to the lack of social cohesion that comes with the incompatibility of two separate cultures. I would feel very uncomfortable if I were walking in a Muslim dominated area, including a very conservative one.

On the other hand, I also think that trying to completely reject multiculturalism and maintain a homogenous society based on those worries is completely unrealistic. This is because throughout history, humanity has always taken and copied aspects of cultures and materials from those around them whenever it suited their needs.

For example, even though noodles are regarded as a traditional Italian dish, the earliest known noodles actually originated from China. The same goes for gun powder, before spreading out and becoming a major component of weaponry around the world.

Ironically Japan is a perfect example of unwitting multiculturalism, despite touting itself as a homogenous country. Alot of Japanese culture comes from Chinese and Korean influence (although many very nationalistic Japanese will rarely bring this up), as well as European influence coinciding the height of Imperial Japan in World War II.

Additionally, the earliest prototype of a democratic institution for the U.S. came from the Iroquis system of government.

What is shown throughout history is this: if there is something that one group of people have that another group of people find desirable, they will take it and mold it to fit their own needs. It is what people do. As a result, completely maintaining the culture of one's country, group or nation is if, not impossible, outright improbable.

We already have a multiculturalism thread. There would seem to be no point in having two topics on the same subject.