ThirstyFish

Interestingly, the Indian Fig is not a fig, but actually a cactus native to Mexico. And this Turkish man is not ethnically a Turk, but - if I understood him correctly - an ethnic Bosnian. In fact, besides the recognized, mostly assimilated ethnics groups such as Kurds, Zazaki, Arabs, Greeks, Circassians, Ladinos, Armenian, Laz and Georgians that make up about 20% of the Turkish population, numerous genetic studies have indicated that a great majority of "Turks" are actually descendents of historical Anatolian groups such as Carians, Hittites, Isaurians, Luwians, Lycians, Lydians etc. Turkey, much like the United States, is and has always been a multi-ethnic country. In fact, most countries in the world are actually made up of many ethnic groups.

Although we tend to associate multiculturalism with multi-ethnicism they are quite different. For example, many consider the U.S. to be a multi-ethnic country, while not being very diverse to be considered multicultural. There exists a prominent American culture and "American values" which a very diverse group of people subscribe to. When ethnicity and culture are not disassociated, this can lead to - and it often does - racism, xenophobia and discrimination.

Unfortunately, globalization and technology is threatening cultural diversity throughout the world. We are rapidly heading towards a single "global culture". Maybe this is going to sound odd, but, the difference between Turkish Culture and American Culture is quickly eroding. Yes, language is an element of culture, but most Turks have become consumers, spending their time in shopping malls and their general ambitions are almost no different than that of Americans.