Country vs. Culture Essay -- Culture

America is a land based on freedom. This freedom is for every individual no matter their race or culture. Our society has surpassed many judgments and concerns that these demographic differences had created in the past. These differences had previously led to a great amount of cultural diversity through the act of discrimination among our nation. America, as a country, has now opened opportunities for individuals to work and interact in environments which were previously unsuited. USA Today surveyed a minority group in 2005 and found that over one third of corporate culture embraces diversity (El Nasser). They have opened doors to expand numbers that are now reaching around 41percent of minorities working at all levels of companies and 37percent of minorities at senior management (El Nasser). America has allowed cultural views of religion and other lifestyle beliefs and values to be an individual’s choice. They have also given a vast amount of freedom to different ethnic and religious groups throughout the past decades. A number of individuals along with various groups have taken advantage of these freedoms in unacceptable and illegal ways and given a lesser punishments for their actions. There have been cultural cases surrounding the acts of rapes and murders, for example, where a defendant was given 5 years of probation for murder and another individual was given 120 days in prison for murder (Phillips). These sentences can be compared to the 10 or more years charged for a ‘normal’ murder case or the average 11.8 years in prison for an individual convicted of rape ("Title 18 Crimes and Criminal Procedure"). The freedom this country is based on should not be shaken by the cultures coming in, but this country should s... ...ce in the English Courts." Modern Law Review. 66.4 (2003): 510-531. Web. 28 Mar. 2012. http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/534/1/when_culture_means_gender(LSERO).pdf. Reddy, Sita. "Temporarily Insane: Pathologising Cultural Difference in American Criminal Courts." Sociology of Health and Illness. 24.5 (2002): 667-687. Web. 1 Apr. 2012. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1467-9566.00313/pdf. United States. Justia US Law. Title 18 Crimes and Criminal Procedure. Justia, 2010. Web. http://law.justia.com/codes/us/2010/title18/. Valladares, Rene. Culture Clash: Cultural Issues in Criminal Defense. District of Nevada: Juris Publishing Inc., 2007. 424-466. eBook. www.fd.org/pdf_lib/culture_clash.pdf. Willing, Richard. "Courts Asked To Consider Culture." USA Today 25 May 2004, n. pag. Web. 2 Apr. 2012. http://www.usatoday.com/educate/college/casestudies/Multicultural.pdf.