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Once again, very interesting (and very timely) topic. Yes, I'm afraid "diversity" is overrated, as far as its meaning is understood in the present. By "diversity", most of the time we mean diversity of race or ethnicity, and that's fine. The problems arise when we can't separate race and ethnicity from cultural differences, and the basically fine concept of "diversity" really becomes a code-word for "multiculturalism". I do not believe there has ever been, or ever will be, a successful society in which some group, or some culture, hasn't been in charge. Multiculturalism, as much as we may deny it, is essentially saying "I have a culture- in it are included my moral codes, my sense of right and wrong, my relationship with my fellow man, etc., etc. I believe my culture strives for decency and fairness. But I'm willing to grant that your culture, no matter what you believe, is just as valid and correct as mine". Such a position, in the end, is simply unrealistic. Some positions, and practices, and behaviors, are just not compatible with others.
This very discussion, of course, is an example. To even make such a statement, I have to "judge" others. I have to say "some things are right, and other things are wrong", and I have to have the conviction to realize that, much as I may want to be an enlightened, sophisticated man of today, there are some boundaries we should be very wary of crossing.
Exotic experiences add to the enjoyment and interest of life. Going to a Thai restaurant- or a Cinco de Mayo celebration- or listening to an Indian music performance, or a Russian opera, are enriching experiences. These and a myriad of similar examples can be enjoyed, or not, according to one's interest. But that's not "multiculturalism". Multiculturalism, in its truest sense, involves the deepest values of a society, and I don't believe these are negotiable, as much as I'm afraid some folks today would like to see it.
Before we blindly rush to throw open the doors to multiculturalism, it would behoove us to remember that many of the cultures we seek to embrace have no interest in returning the favor. We have every right, and every obligation, to pick and choose what we will accept, and what we won't, in "our" country (assuming, of course, that we have the right to call it "our country") After all, wife-beating, child labor, slavery, forced prostitution, selling of children, female circumcision, and suicide bombing are all, somewhere in the world, a time-honored part of someone's culture. Are these practices O.K.? To answer that, I'd have to take a position from my own cultural viewpoint and say, "No-- these things are NOT proper, and I don't want them going on in my society". Therefore, I've just committed an act of cultural judgement.
While the above might be an extreme example, I believe it serves to illustrate that a position of "all cultures are equal" is a very naive and dangerous one. As much as it annoys our modern sense of fairness, there really can be no multiculturalism for any length of time. Very soon, in such a situation, someone is going to end up in charge. I have to admit I hope that we have the common sense to control the outcome.
The good-hearted folks who insist that "all cultures are equal" are sadly deluded. They might just as well say "serial child molesters need love and understanding". We may feel the obligation to treat child molesters with compassion and dignity (as we lock them up); but certainly most of us wouldn't want to release them upon society just because they're our "equals". They've outraged our cultural sensibilties and we therefore have "judged" them. This is our right, as a decent society (well, at least we TRY to be)...
In closing, once again, I see no problem with racial or ethnic diversity. However, the danger lies in the tendency to include this with "behavioral" diversity. If we can't agree on what's right and honorable, and on what's despicable and bad, it may be that w've already succumbed to the dangers of multiculturalism......
I welcome your comments.
Macmeal I enjoyed reading your post - it provides a lot of food for thought. I agree with quite a bit of what you are saying. I guess the only area I would take issue with is I believe you are mixing together the concepts of culture and law. A lot of global corporations with Americans in charge have factories where child labor is practiced, and a blind eye is turned. Wife beating and forced prostitution occur with some frequency in the United States, albeit behind closed doors. What I am getting at is I would beg to differ that these are innately cultural concepts; rather, they are concepts of law (or lack of law). So long as people of other cultures come to our country and respect our laws, then they should be allowed to practice and enjoy their cultures here, without fear of retaliation. That is what has always made our country different, and made it unique.
Location: In an illegal immigrant free part of the country.
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TN Love and English_Teacher and I truly hope you are a teacher have spoken the truth. France has wised up to the destruction of their culture and is paying people to return to their native countries.
I now live where there are no illegals and if they come into town they are immediately picked up. This community is made up of immigrates that have been here for generations, German, Norwegian mostly. They are American through and through. It was such a delightful shock when I first moved here from Ca. Everyone speaks English. Americans do every job and somehow there does not seem to be these mysterious jobs Americans won’t do. Best of all everything is clean! No grafitti, no trash, no filthy restrooms. No gang bangers with their pants slung around their knees. It is the America I remember and it is beautiful!
Take the term "diversity" and break it down. It is from the Latin "dividere" meaning to separate. "United we stand, divided we fall" and I don't think anyone is foolish enough to argue with that phrase. Why aren't we preaching UNITY rather than diversity? We should be uniting on our commonalities rather than dividing on ours differences.
Corporate diversity teaches a "dumb down" approach. We were told not to use phrases that others may not understand, rather than those people asking what the phrases mean. Too many other things like that as well.
If you have the time, read Geo. Alec Effinger's 'All the Last Wars at Once', a story of dividing. People separate by their demographics. Blacks against whites, young against old, women against men, until the only thing that is left is is the individual and the last battle is waged against one's self. Supposed to be satire but somehow it rings so true with diversity being what it is today.
While the above might be an extreme example, I believe it serves to illustrate that a position of "all cultures are equal" is a very naive and dangerous one.
I too enjoyed your post, as posts that reflect any thought at all are rare enough around here, and this one went well beyond the minimums in that regard. Still, I think you've missed the mark in the above. Multiculturalism does not proceed from an assumption that all cultures are equal. It proceeds from an assumption that all cultures are flawed. Thus each one may have things to learn and things to gain from understanding the ways and means of another. This is one of the ways in which cultures improve and evolve. Cultures are big things and take time to change, but there is nothing more likely to slow down that process of change than to isolate a culture so as to keep it from having intimate contact with any other...
Macmeal I enjoyed reading your post - it provides a lot of food for thought. I agree with quite a bit of what you are saying. I guess the only area I would take issue with is I believe you are mixing together the concepts of culture and law.
I think you'll find it a hard case to make that law does not proceed from culture. The one is merely a reflection of the other.
Quote:
Originally Posted by bily4
So long as people of other cultures come to our country and respect our laws, then they should be allowed to practice and enjoy their cultures here, without fear of retaliation.
Don't confuse respect for law with the rule of law. Respect for law is a prominent hallmark of autocratic and authoritarian societies. Democracies and other liberal societies depend upon a healthy dose of disrespect for law in order to progress.
Quote:
Originally Posted by bily4
That is what has always made our country different, and made it unique.
Hardly. A great many if not most countries in the world are a blend of at least once distinct cultures, and many of those do a better job of dealing with the situation than we do.
Take the term "diversity" and break it down. It is from the Latin "dividere" meaning to separate.
Your Latin needs work. You're confusing "divertere" with "dividere". Two different things.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BigHouse9
"United we stand, divided we fall" and I don't think anyone is foolish enough to argue with that phrase.
The foolish won't argue with it. The wise often will, if and when the phrase is used in an attempt to impose conformity around a flawed premise.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BigHouse9
We should be uniting on our commonalities rather than dividing on ours differences.
Everyone has that choice to make every day. You can learn a lot about a person's character merely by observing the degree of consistency with which they make that choice, one way or the other, over a reasonable period of time.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BigHouse9
Corporate diversity teaches a "dumb down" approach. We were told not to use phrases that others may not understand, rather than those people asking what the phrases mean. Too many other things like that as well.
Well, that would depend on circumstance, wouldn't it. If you're in customer relations, the need is to communicate basic information to a customer quickly. If you're dealing with a management trainee, then the need is to bring that person into the more complex world of shop-talk and corporate culture over a far longer period of time. Different approaches might be called for under these differing circumstances. And I bet they are.
Your Latin needs work. You're confusing "divertere" with "dividere". Two different things.
The foolish won't argue with it. The wise often will, if and when the phrase is used in an attempt to impose conformity around a flawed premise.
Everyone has that choice to make every day. You can learn a lot about a person's character merely by observing the degree of consistency with which they make that choice, one way or the other, over a reasonable period of time.
Well, that would depend on circumstance, wouldn't it. If you're in customer relations, the need is to communicate basic information to a customer quickly. If you're dealing with a management trainee, then the need is to bring that person into the more complex world of shop-talk and corporate culture over a far longer period of time. Different approaches might be called for under these differing circumstances. And I bet they are.
Sorry sag, I was using the Latin for the word "divide" - Etymology: Middle English, from Latin dividere, from dis- + -videre to separate.
And as far as your analysis goes, it sounds like argument just for the sake of it. Your scrutiny of the "dumbing down" approach of diversity is a stretch at best. Most corporate diversity is not taught at a micro level but at the macro. I have been through it quite a few times and they don't break it down per your area.
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)... just to let you know, "TNLove" was banned, so no need to bother answering their posts. 
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