According to Dr. Johnson, diversity means______.

W: The word ’diversity’ has become a clich6 in the United States today. It seems to me that nowadays Americans cannot turn on the television or read a newspaper without seeing the word pop up somewhere as a description of the American demographic. Then what is this ’diversity’ in the US? Today we’re very pleased to have Dr. James Johnson here on our talk show. Welcome! Dr. Johnson!
M: Thanks!
W: Dr. Johnson, we know you have done extensive research on diversity. So what is... how do you define diversity in the American context?
M: Well, at one time, the US was called ’the melting pot’ , you know, which means that people of many different religions, cultures and races could share their traditional cultural identities and blend into one homogeneous nation.
W: And am I right in saying that a melting pot would emphasize the idea of all in one or being the same?
M: Yes, you may say so. And of course, when the phrase ’melting pot’ was popular, there was also the idea of being different, but being different then simply meant Catholic as a post Protestant, or Irish as a post Swedish or Italian.
W: Has the idea of being different changed over the years?
M: Yes, of course. You see, today we use the word diversity to refer to more visible ethnic differences , Asian American, African American, and Latino, for instance, and religious diversity refers to a variety of world religions, not merely different branches of Christianity. (Q1)
W: And now is America as a whole truly diverse?
M: Well, I think in all this talk of diversity, there was a critical point that may be missed; that is, diversity is not occurring everywhere in the US, or at least not to a degree that would alter the demography of every region in the country. (Q2)
W: Oh! Really?
M: I can give you an example. Recently, a New York Times article describes the town of Selinsgrove in Pennsylvania. You see, in the last 10 years things have barely changed in that town. The population has dropped by 1 from 5,384 to 5,383 , and the town remains virtually 100% white. The article thus concludes that many portions of the country remain, like Selinsgrove, virtually unchanged on this march towards diversity.
W: So regions vary in terms of the degree and types of diversity.
M: That’s correct. Let’s say there are 3 types of diversity in the US, and they differ from region to region.
W: Could you elaborate on that?
M: OK. First is racial diversity. States with the most racially diverse populations stand in stark contrast to those with the least racially diverse populations. Um, let’s look at two states; California and Maine. From 1990 to 2000 California’s Caucasian population, meaning non-Hispanic whites, declined from 57% to 48%. By 2025, as is predicted, that figure would drop to just 34% , which indicates a future change in the racial composition of California. (Q3) On the contrary, Maine’s Caucasian population was 98% of its total population throughout the 1990s, and by 2025, Maine’s population will still be 97% Caucasian, which means virtually no change in Maine’s racial diversity over the next 20 or so years.
W: This shows that racial diversity is not occurring everywhere. Then what about other types of diversity?
M: Right. The second type of diversity is age diversity, and there are some interesting age gaps developing between states. For example, there is a large gap between the average age of the five states with the youngest populations and the five states with the oldest populations, this of course is well-known, what is less discussed is the difference between the racial makeup of younger and older populations, most of the populations having the greatest racial diversity are younger on average than the populations with great Caucasian representation. (Q4) It is also well-known that Caucasian tend to be more affluent than other ethnic groups on average. In our pay-as-you-go Social Security System, works are tax to pay the benefit to retirees, so this could lead to a future where wealth is systematically redistributed from younger, poorer minorities to older, wealthier whites.
W: This is a very interesting point. Then what is the third type of diversity in the US?
M: The third is religious diversity. Immigration from India, Pakistan and the Middle East brought radically increased numbers of Indus and Muslims to the US, and Chinese, Vietnamese, Japanese and other Asian immigrants increase the numbers of Buddhists.
W: Oh, I see.
M: But the point is that these religions didn’t settle everywhere; they settled mainly in California and major northeastern and Middle Western cities such as New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, and Minneapolis. (Q5) From 1990 to 2000, the number of Muslims in New York city grew from 600,000 to nearly 1,000,000. In the Los Angeles area there are now more than 300 Buddhist temples.
W: So, we see that many parts of the US are truly becoming more diverse, while at the same time others are centrally remaining the same in terms of race, age and religion.
M: Yes, that is true.
W: OK. Dr. Johnson, thank you very much for coming on the show and talking to us.
M: A pleasure.