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1. Cultural Identity and Cultural Biases

   Growing up in an environment with multiple cultural has its advantages and disadvantages. Whenever people from multiple cultural backgrounds live together, there are certain misunderstandings that come up as a result of the cultural differences. However, growing up with people from other cultures cultivates the virtues of tolerance for other people’s beliefs and practices therefore facilitating a peaceful coexistence. When people grow up in places with multiple cultures, the identities they form are influential in the kinds of impacts they have on communication—they can impact on communication either positively or negatively.

   Growing up amidst multiple cultures make those within those cultures to recognize the biases they may have towards other people. In all cultures, there are differences in religion, gender roles, perceptions on social class or even education that may form the basis of biases that the people of that culture develop towards other cultures (Lustig, Myron et al. 2018). While it is true that some of these biases may be consciously developed, it is also true that most of the time, there are unconscious biases that people may have and not even be aware of. When one lives among people of other cultures too, it is possible to have encounters in which they realize their unconscious biases. These can then be identified and rectified. Even for those biases that one may be conscious of, they can be corrected when one sees how negatively they affect other people.

   Being among a multiplicity of cultures enables those who live there to learn to coexist regardless of their differences, making them more adaptable in an increasingly interconnected world. Every day, there are connections across cultures that are brought about by commerce, diplomacy or social media. To be able to initiate and maintain meaningful conversations across cultures requires one to have intercultural competence, and part of this competence entails shedding off some of the biases that we may have. A US American has an advantage when it comes to this type of adaptability because chances are they have interacted with people from multiple ethnicities, races, religions and cultures. These experiences equip them with the right tools to communicate across cultures.

   However, living amidst multiple cultures also presents US Americans with a number of challenges. It is true that whenever people from different cultures live together, there is heightened awareness of discrimination and prejudice, even if this prejudice is entirely unintentional. Because of this, these people always have to live by looking over their shoulders so that their actions are not misinterpreted as discriminatory. While it is true that the people who live in such environments can identify and rectify their biases, it is also true that such biases tend to occur mainly where there are many cultures. There is therefore a possibility of a cycle of institutionalised discrimination that may pass as the norm.

   When identity is forged through this multicultural lens, communication can be impacted positively. Those who already are living within the set-up of multiple cultures would easily understand uniqueness whenever it shows itself. When one of a different culture shows up with a different cultural practice, they would not interpret this as a form of disturbance (Lustig, Myron et al. 2018, p 97) but a part in the contribution to the richness of cultural heritage. Such people are accommodative and tolerant, willing to listen to other people’s points of view and expressing their own with no sense of entitlement or superiority.

   On the other hand, communication can also be impacted negatively when one’s identity is like most US Americans. When one grows up this way, they can always tend to assume that other people too must have such multicultural understanding. When communicating with them then, they may feel that others are being insensitive or are expressing biases that hinder the possibility of a successful intercultural communication. US Americans are generally more sensitive to the underlying prejudices, nuances and biases that people from other cultures may exhibit. This then hinders their ability to fully take part in communication with people from other parts of the world.