Cultural Awareness In The United States

Cultural awareness is defined as, “A history treating one or a number of historic world cultures as an integrated unit for purposes of cross comparison with others and for analysis of the forces presumed to be in operation as regards to cultural growth, development, fruition, and decay” (Merriam-Webster, 2014). One could argue the United States has made important milestones in developing into a progressive, culturally sensitive society. One question still remains: through the vast amount of global campaigns, has the United States achieved any actual benchmarks in cultural awareness? Recent history would indicate no. Our inability to understand and adapt to other cultures has cost the United States significantly in conflicts in Germany,

The Somali people are comprised of a number of tribes. Seventy percent of these tribes are the nomadic tribes of Dir, Darood, Isaaq, and Hawiye; the remaining thirty percent of the population is comprised of twenty percent agricultural tribes, Digil and Rahanweyn, and ten percent coastal fishing communities (Mohamed, 2009). A large element of Somali politics involves heads of clans and sub-clans playing a pragmatic balancing game, seeking protection from stronger groups and then shifting to balance them when one side becomes strong enough to threaten its partner’s autonomy (Reno,

Even in an insurgency that occurs in a country with a nonfunctioning central government or after a major conflict, the host nation must eventually provide a solution that is culturally acceptable to its society and meets U.S. policy goals. The conclusion of any counterinsurgency effort is primarily dependent on the host nation and the people who reside in that nation. Ultimately, every society has to provide solutions to its own problems. As such, one of the Army and Marine Corps’ primary roles in counterinsurgency is to enable the host nation” (Department,