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Yuh Ji-Yeon Essay Looking at America from a broader multicultural perspective is more realistic. Truly, America is a melting pot of a lot of different cultures. America does not belong only to the fair-skinned caucasians. Reality is that yellow, brown, red, and black Americans live on the same plains as the whites. Yuh Ji-Yeon puts it this way, â€Å"America is a multicultural nation, composed of many people with varying histories and varying traditions who have little in common except their humanity, a belief in democracy and a desire for freedom† (518). This is the honest truth. Looking at our country from this perspective, which is an honest one, helps us deal with our issues in a more realistic and honest way. We can therefore address these issues more easily and we can formulate better solutions all because we started on an honest premise. This is the benefit which we get from assimilating this point of perspection. Once we realize that America does not belong only to the whites but also to a multitudes of other cultures, we start to see things differently. We learn to live life in harmony with them and accept them as brothers. Yuh Ji-Yeon submits, â€Å"downplaying ethnicity will not bolster national unity† (519). When we were taught that America is predominantly white, in our subconscious we were developing the idea that what is not white is not American. This is where our racial prejudice starts. Viewing America as a multicultural country at the outset, nips our discriminatory tendencies at the bud. Once we get rid of our prejudices, life here in this country will be more peaceful. This is the second benefit. Once we learn to live in this country as one people regardless of ethnic origin, we will have peace and harmony as far as racial discrimination is concerned since we can learn to work hand in hand with each other. We will be foregoing our biases when we look at others. We will be seeing people not color. We will be judging them by their individual personalities and not by their skin color. This will level the playing field of opportunities for every citizen. And it is only then that we can say that America is a country which holds equality for all. And there is nothing better than a heart that is at peace. When it is easy to live with each other, we have peace of minds and hearts. And once we have done this, we could show the world that a peace and unity which transcends skin color and ethnic origin can exist in this world. That then, we could be its example. The first thing to do in order to understand the subcultures in this country better is to erase traces of prejudice in the mind. Simply, adopt the idea that America is not white. Accept that all citizens are Americans even if all are not white. If this is hard, just remember that the first people who settled in this country were not white. As succinctly stated by the essay, â€Å"recognize that America was shaped and continues to be shaped by people of diverse backgrounds† (518). Second, as Yuh Ji-Yeon did, read history by yourself. Read on those parts which are not being taught inside the classrooms. Read those written by black and brown Americans so that you will see history from all perspectives. From there you can see how history really happened. Just remember that historians, when they wrote history, had biases and these may be reflected in their works. So seek other perspectives of how history happened and decide for yourself which version you will adopt. As Yuh Ji-Yeon puts it, â€Å"there is more than one way of viewing the world† (518). And lastly, adopt what is suggested by the report â€Å"One Nation, Many Peoples: A Declaration of Cultural Interdependence†. The report â€Å"calls for students to be taught that history is an ongoing process of discovery and interpretation of the past † (518). In short, we must recognize that whatever we do today, we are making history. We should act with this thought in mind.