Culture of the Union of Everett

The culture of the Union of Everett is a Western culture, influenced much based on the cultures of its predecessor, the United States and its history. In the past ten years though, several factors of American culture have changed with the new government, laws and the influences of popular politicians.

Language

The Union of Everett has established three official de-facto primary languages, English, French and Spanish. Census estimates stated that at least 98.7% of citizens spoke at least one of these three languages, with English, holding a majority of speakers in the total country. English speakers, only language, bi-lingual or more and English-as a-Second-Language (ESL) dominate the other two national languages with 89.5% of the population knowing English fluently. Spanish is spoken by the next largest majority with an estimated 43.2% of the total population. French is spoken by 21.4%. The Union of Everett also federal recognizes nearly a dozen other languages including Algic, Iroquoian, Siouan-Catawban, Muskogean, Eskimo-Aleut, Mayan, Hawai'ian, Belizean Creole, Haitian Creole and American Sign Language.

Federally recognized languages are spoken among smaller minority groups. However, American Sign Language, Hawai'ian, Mayan and Iroquoian are taught in schools as special languages. Since inception of nationally required teaching of American Sign Language in elementary and middle schooling, fluent signers of the language have increased. While estimates of actual signer populations in the United States had been un-recorded, the Everetti government estimated a possibly 400,000 signers since 2006, when much of the country had completed taking territorial form and had increased since the ASL laws passed in 2005, an estimated total fluent signing population is claimed at 4.6 million. These numbers are expected to rise significantly in the next 18 years to over 20 million fluent signers.

In several states, special languages are taught in schools. In Hawaii, Hawai'ian is taught to students in Middle School. In Yucatan and Maya Coast, ancient Mayan is taught in Middle School. Finally, across large portions of the mid and northern states, from Louisiana to Quebec, Iroquoian is taught in Middle and High Schools.

Religion

The Union of Everett is one of the most secular nations in the world. According to its Constitution, church and state are completely separated. Federal laws have reformed government policies regarding religion in government. Upon independence from the United States in 2003, the Union of Everett altered the motto from "In God We Trust" to "Liberty, Justice, Equality". Along with the motto, paper and coin currency have also been altered to feature the new motto. The Everetti Pledge of Allegiance also underwent re-wording, reverting it to the original language when it was first written, before the 1950's Red Scare-era reformation of inclusion of Christianity in government.

While declared a secular nation, the dominant religion in the country is Christianity. The 2012 Census reported 75% of the nation's population declaring themselves religious, while 25% declared themselves non-religious. The Census then broke down the 2012 statistics showing of the 75% of religious citizens, nearly 85% were Christians, the majority of which were Roman Catholics, followed by Protestants. Of the remaining 15% of religious people in the Union of Everett, 5% stated they were Jewish, 5% declared being Hindu, 2% declared being Buddhist and the remaining 3% made up Sikhs, Muslims, varied native American tribal beliefs, Unitarians, Voodoo, Shintoism, Taoism and Wiccan. Extreme minority religions also are reported to include Satanists, Pagans, Rastafarians, Free-Zone Scientologists, Jainism and Baha'i Faith.

2012 Census showed 25% of the population are non-religious. Broken down, this accounts for 20% of the population identifying as Atheists and 5% as Agnostics. Of the 20% of Atheists, 9% also identified as both Atheist and Anti-Religion. Of Agnostics, only .5% of them declared being Anti-Religion. The fastest growing belief system in the Union of Everett is Atheism, which spiked in 2003 from only 11% of the nation declaring non-religious belief to 25% in 2012. The Department of State estimated with current trends in religious decline that by 2030, 50% of the country will be Atheist.

Increases of right wing and radicalist Christian groups and beliefs has forced a notable divide in the Union of Everett political scene and social scene. Several politicians in the country are noted for their extremist views, which have been condemned globally, including former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, who is one of the most extreme right wing politicians in the nation. Religious influence in government is illegal, yet bills are repeatedly introduced both in state level governments and attempts into federal laws, to include religious beliefs and morals in law. Union of Everett politics tend to be influenced by the extreme ends of religious beliefs, such as the right wing Christian radicals and the left wing secular politicians, including current President Kaitlyn Spencer.

Education

Education in the Union is widely promoted by the government. The literacy rate as of 2013 was recorded at 99.7%. Literacy statistics in the country as of 2012 show of the 99.7% who are read, write and speak a language, some 89.5% are English language literate. Education programs are a major focus of the government, promoting continued education and higher learning and providing grants and aid to lower income families to engage in education. Approximately 72% of Everetti high school graduates go on to attend college, of which 88% of those college students graduate and acquire degrees of varying types. Over the passed ten years since independence, education statistics have shown a gradual and then dramatic increase in education attendance, grade point averages, decreases dropouts in high school, increased graduation and increases in college attendance.

Government media regulation has been linked to the increases in education, as public broadcasting channels and federal grants to television entertainment stations to produce and air educative programming and commercial promotion of learning and seeking higher education appears to have turned the youth culture around. Increases on regulating inappropriate shows, movies and music available on radio and television programming has been linked to a decrease in Everetti gang violence, youth crime rates and delinquency. As a result of government grants, education statistics show an overall increase in youth participation and attendance in schooling and overall higher national test scores.

The Union of Everett has nearly 4,000 higher education campuses and facilities across the nation, including colleges, universities, technical schools and junior colleges. Over the passed ten years, since independence in 2003, the Union of Everett's rank for percentage of adults with college degrees among industrial countries had risen from 9th to 3rd, the United States of which stood at 10th place. Costs for tuition have been reduced under law and government grants and aid for lower income persons have allowed significant increases in college attendance nationwide.

Since 2005, students in elementary, middle/junior and senior/high schools have been required to be educated as per specified standards under the Department of Education. Physical Education programs have been modified to provide increased exercise and classes often engage in a mix of health education, regarding diet and nutrition, as well as general fitness, martial arts, dancing lessons and extra-curricular sports. Schools also often teach in health classes about sexual education, drug use, tobacco use, bullying, criminal justice, among other topics in mandated health classes by grade six. However, schools are recommended to not prioritize abstinence as much as safe sex.

Race & Ancestry

Everett is an ethnically and racially diverse country as a result of large-scale immigration from many different countries throughout its history and its previous existence in the United States. The acquiring of the northern Canadian provinces and the southern Mexican and Haitian states have increased diverse populations of Latin culture and in Haiti, African and Caribbean cultures. Ties with Cuba have reintroduced Cuban and other cultures into the southern regions significantly. With the states of Yucatan and Maya Coast, Central American and Latin American populations have increased and the culture is notably more widespread in the former United States territories of Mid-Everett, from Louisiana to New York. The annexation of Quebec introduced a larger scale of French culture into the northern regions of New England. In addition, increases in government funding of native American reservations, education programs in schools and others, have shot an increase in older native American cultures across the country not seen since the early 1900s of the United States.

Everett consists of a majority of three major races, which in the past years, has slowly evened out between two of the largest populations, white Caucasians and Hispanic/Latin, who make up nearly 78% of the population, with whites consisting of 50.3% and Hispanic/Latin of 27.7%. African-Americans make up 18% of the population, which has increased since the annexing of Haiti. Asians include 1.2%, native Americans, Inuits and Pacific Islanders include 1% and varied other races make up the remaining 1.8%. Of that 1.8%, most are of Indian descent and a small minority of Arabs.

Racism

The United States, while plagued with racism, even long after the Civil Rights Movements of the 1960s and following laws and reforms to increase rights and respect of non-whites, most notably African Americans at the time, the Union of Everett made significant strides in combating continued unchecked racism and discrimination in the country. Whites are the dominant race in the nation at more than half of the total population. Since Everett's formation, white populations have not decreased, but have seen increases in the amount of other minorities living in the nation. With the incidents in Mexico before and during the annexing of Yucatan and Maya Coast, large amounts of southern racism targeted immigration issues and anti-Mexican and anti-Hispanic sentiment. Additional increases in the African American populations as a result of the acquiring of Haiti and increased ties with Cuba and the Cuban population, racist sentiments reached all time highs. In the south-mid regions of the country, notably Tennessee, Mississippi and Alabama, anti-minority sentiment is strong, with populations of supremacist movements and white pride mentality. Tennessee has been the most notable in its attempts at enforcing illegal laws and unlawful treatment of non-whites and non-Christians with legal attacks on the rights of Arabs, Muslims, Jews, African Americans and Hispanic/Latin populations.

The federal government however, grants full enforced equality and rights, ensuring that discrimination based on race and religion is prevented and in legal cases, restricted and sometimes criminal. The result of increased government action against racism caused incidents of racial violence in the country between 2005 and 2009 as white power and Nazi groups made attempts in violent protest and criminal activity against minority groups and the 2007, three week long, civil war incident in Tennessee, in which Aryan, Neo-Nazi and white supremacist groups attempted to start a war against the federal government. The result was a massive loss of white power and Aryan Nation domestic terrorist groups and a victory for racial equality and security. Since 2010 and into the present, racism and other forms of immigrant, nationalistic and religious discrimination have decreased significantly as racist promotion has been since deemed criminal and hate speech and hate crimes, enforced as illegal in federal law. Race, immigrant status, nationality, ethnicity and religion are all deemed protected under federal statute pertaining the illegality of discrimination and hate bias. Government agencies, such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and private civil rights organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), further ensure civil rights and protections of Everettis from hate and bias through legal force.

However, some racial groups are still at a disadvantage in many areas of the country. Since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, the Union of Everett in 2003 since enforced racial profiling of Muslims in instances of major transit systems, most notably in airline travel. Federal screening agents with the Department of Homeland Security, which was adopted from the United States upon formation, are taught to monitor and target Arab and Muslims more often than other races or religious groups. Homeland Security in the Union of Everett goes as far to teach airport security agents the difference between several religious groups and races who may seem similar to Muslims and Arabs and differentiate the profiling of Arab Muslims and Indian Sikhs. In addition, heightened anti-Middle East sentiment has resulted in the federal government banning Visa and passport entry of certain foreign nationals into Everetti territory including Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Jordan, Egypt, Libya, Algeria, Somalia, Pakistan, Afghanistan and the United Arab Emirates, as a preventative measure to restrict possible Islamic extremists and terror agents from getting into the country. The restrictive travel laws do not specify the targeting of Arabs or Muslims only, but any legal citizen of those nations. The federal government, along with other European nations, enforces an anti-Burka law, which bans women from wearing Islamic conservative Burkas (full body and face coverings) in the majority of public locations.

Immigration

The country is ethnically diverse as a result of four hundred some years prior immigration and migration to the North American continent since 1492. During the period of European colonialism, much of the immigration to what is now the Union of Everett consisted of British, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese and Dutch settlements and colonization, which mixed with already existing native American populations. During the United States' history, immigration increased from varieties of other races, nationalities, cultures and ethnicities including Irish, Italian, Chinese, southeast Asian and later on into the 20th century, Arabs, Jews, Indians, Japanese, Koreans and eastern Europeans. During the United States' periods of slave trade, African populations increased in the Americans and the United States especially, bringing much African ethnic diversity and culture into the southern regions.

Today, the Union of Everett is described as a melting pot, as the three major racial groups, whites, Hispanics/Latin and African Americans are reported to be increasing their multiculturalism and inter-racial associations. Everetti scientists estimate that by the 22nd century, much of the population will have merged into a new racial makeup of white, Hispanic and African genes, referred to as "Americans".

Most modern immigration in Everett now consists of increased Hispanic immigration from Mexico into the states of Yucatan and Maya Coast and of Latin Americans from Central America and South America. Cuban immigration has also increased with new ties between the Everetti government and the Cubans. Immigration is also high from the United States. Many Americans, displeased with the state of affairs in the U.S. have sought out the Union of Everett as a new home, to protect their liberties. Muslim immigration has also declined significantly with increases in anti-Islam sentiments and government foreign policy. Jewish, European and Indian with Hindu and Buddhist immigration has increased over the past years. Russian immigration has also risen due to relations between the Union of Everett and Russia being exemplary.

Meanwhile, migration from the Union of Everett has also been noted. Increased outflow of Muslims and Arabs has been noted since foreign policy changes against Islamic dictatorship regimes including Saudi Arabia and continued instability with the Middle East and some Western nations. While Saudi and other Middle Eastern migration is increased, the outflow of Iranian, Iraqi, Syrian and others have declined, with the ties of a strong pro-Democratic Iraqistani government and culture. Christian migration has also been noted in conservative areas as more extreme right wing religious groups had notably moved westward, migrating to the United States.

Media

Music

The music of the Union of Everett reflects the country's multi-ethnic population through a diverse array of styles. Among the country's most internationally-renowned genres are hip hop, blues, country, rhythm and blues, jazz, pop, techno, and rock. After Japan and the U.S., the Union of Everett has the world's third largest music market with a total retail value of $1.7 billion dollars in 2011 and its music is heard around the world. Many Everetti cities and towns have vibrant music scenes which, in turn, support a number of regional musical styles. Along with musical centers such as Philadelphia, New York City, New Orleans, Detroit, Minneapolis, Chicago, Atlanta, Nashville and many smaller cities such as Asbury Park, New Jersey have produced distinctive styles of music. The Cajun and Creole traditions in Louisiana music, the folk and popular styles of Hawaiian music, and the bluegrass and old time music of the Southeastern states are a few examples of diversity in Everetti music.

Many traditional Mexican songs are well-known worldwide, commonly popular in the southern states of Yucatan and Maya Coast, including La Bamba (The Bamba) and La Cucaracha (The Cockroach). Mariachi is a notable unique music that consists of guitarrón, vihuela, guitar, violins and trumpets. This folk ensemble performs ranchera, son de mariachi, huapango de mariachi, polka, corrido, and other musical forms. Since merging with the Union in the late 2000's, Mexican style Jazz, Latin alternative, rock, ska, pop and electronic have increased and become more Americanized in sound.

A Haitian hip hop movement is rising in popularity in Haiti and other Haitian communities. It is becoming more popular with urban youth, often communicating social and political topics as well as materialism. Recent years have seen a rise in popularity for Haitian Hip-Hop artists as Everetti rap culture mixes with Haitian.

Famous musicians who reside in the Union include Mariah Carey, R. Kelly, Christina Aguilera, Celine Dion, Eminem, Enrique Iglesias, Christina Fletcher, Jay-Z, Lady Gaga, Avril Lavigne, Lil Jon, Lil Wayne, Jennifer Lopez, Ludacris, Madonna, Pink, Pitbull, P. Diddy, Will Smith and Taylor Swift.

Firearms

While being referred to as mostly liberal, the Union of Everett is noted for its strong pro-gun views. Continued from previous American cultures of the United States and the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, the Everetti Constitution guarantees the right to own firearms. Pro-gun views in most areas have increased since 2003 and as a result, crime rates have reported decreased significantly. The Union of Everett is one of the most armed nations in the world, with the Narcotics, Alcohol & Firearms Agency (NAF) reporting a total of 285 million registered and licensed firearms within the Union of Everett and its territories, owned by civilian gun owners which includes non-military law enforcement and federal officers (whose duty weapons are not counted in the annual statistics). The number of guns outnumbers Everett's population by nearly 30 million weapons. Pro-gun groups like the National Rifle Association of the Union of Everett (NRA) reported membership with nearly 42 million Everetti citizens.