In your minds eye, picture an ice cream sundae. Now accurately describe it in just one word. Is it possible? Could you tell someone else that one word, and have them recognize that you are speaking about an ice cream sundae? They probably will not be able to decipher exactly what you are trying to describe to them. You may have to add some hand gestures and possibly draw a picture before they fully understand that your one word relates to ice cream.

So if it is that difficult to describe an ice cream sundae, why is it that we try to compartmentalize cultural identity into just one word? People are multi-faceted and multi-dimensional. They cannot have their experiences reduced to just one word that describes them completely. To reduce an identity into one definition based on race, class, nationality or culture is an unreasonable.

People are fluid, moving across nations and lives. Thanks to things like the Internet, television and newspapers; the world is being reduced in size from a massive sphere to the size of a tennis ball. People are able to interact with one another at their leisure. Cultures, nationalities, races, and classes are intermingling with one another in ways that they were unable to before. Their beliefs, stories and morals are all moving across planes, reaching out to the far corners of the globe and leaving remnants behind. These remnants are then being ingrained into our existing beliefs and cultures and creating something new. Because of this identities are not motionless; they are constantly changing and being redefined. We have to recognize that our ability to be different is one of the many things that make us as people unique.

Being exposed to new ideas and new understandings are resulting in people as a whole developing an ever changing multicultural identity. You may have never been to Japan but you love Japanese food. You may not be a Christian but you recognize a Christmas tree. You find the sounds of a sitar mesmerizing. These are all new things that have been introduced through contact with other cultures and they have left an impression on your individuality. The exposure to these things is redefining our identities. They are reshaping how we look at the world. It is breaking down borders and boundaries and creating the possibility for global understanding. We have not reached a point yet of global harmony but through increased interaction there is that distinct possibility that one day that may happen.