I've often heard the phrase, "Our diversity is our strength." (or something similar), but admittedly, am not sure that I've ever heard or understood the reasons why such is true. And perhaps more importantly, why is it true? I don't ever recall hearing more than just a bunch of nebulous sort of pie-in-the-sky, wish-it-were-true reasons for it, and far from anything one could consider either authoritative or empirical. So, if you believe it is true - why? And based upon what standard, or proof? And if you do not believe that it is true (or are unsure), why do you believe that everyone seems so certain about it, and you've missed it? Full Disclosure: I have no agenda here. Meaning, I neither have an intended path for the conversation, nor care one whit as to what conclusions we may arrive at, in any regard.
Immigration keeps our economy and way of life going. The majority of all wealth built is from first or second generation immigrants new to this country. They are more aggressive with opportunities and doing work the average American thinks is beneath them.
Not only what Volst said, but it also lends itself to an eternal optimism. Anyone can grow up in the USA to be President, and I believe a lot of that optimism is continuously renewed by immigrants. That said, our diversity and population size is also a great weakness, as it lends to a fractured voter base that cannot get on the same page unlike a country like Switzerland or Sweden.
College campuses should be diverse. The best thing I learned in college was getting to know people from all walks of life and from all over the country. I've now got people I consider good friends living in Ohio, Louisiana, Virginia, DC, Georgia, California, Missouri and Arizona. That means more to me than a degree I don't use. I'm not sure it diversity matters in certain work environments.
I don't think so at all. It's giving a person a chance to improve their lot no matter their starting point. The biggest thing that sets us apart is property rights and rights to the individual .
I personally think one of the reasons for the downfall of the japanese economy is their lack of diversity and their tendancy to group think.
Being in the military changed my view on diversity. I was exposed to a myriad of ethnicities, races, religions, and social status throughout my career and it completely changed my social outlook. I fear that I would have been much more close minded had I not had that experience.
Well said. Travel and college did the same for me. Also working at a labor factory also exposed me to the people that one could call backwards. But at the same time, some of the smartest people I have known worked there. Being exposed to many different cultures, ways of thinking, etc is essential to a proper world view, imho.
I'm gonna go a slightly different route here. In the SCOTUS case of Grutter v. Bollinger, in a 5-4 majority opinion written by Justice O'Connor, affirmative action was upheld in law schools on the rationale that the benefits of a diverse classroom were a compelling reason to justify treating applicants differently on the basis of race. Nonsense. You can take every single class I had in law school, and the amount I learned (and the overall benefits of the classroom experience) was in no way shape or form affected by the racial makeup of the classroom. What affirmative action actually does is put black kids in a classroom filled with people smarter than them. It sets them up for failure. And it makes white kids angry, as they know they could have gotten into the law school that denied them if they had just been a different race. I have nothing against diversity in the classroom. It doesn't detract from the classroom experience, but it doesn't actually add to the experience either, so I see no need to put the idea of it on a pedestal. And I very much disagree with concerted efforts to manufacture it, which is to say I'm very much against affirmative action. It's textbook racial discrimination, and I could have sworn that was bad.
Diversity brings strength in that a variety of opinions and ideologies allows more thinking outside the box, to use a somewhat overused analogy. If all think alike, then there is less chance of innovation. Thinking becomes mired in "that's the way it has always been done" type of attitude.
I'm not sure that there's anything I value more than independent thought. If I could rid the world of one thing, I think I would choose groupthink...or at least that's the first thing that's popping in my head. Coming up with original ideas, questioning whether conventional wisdom is actually correct, finding different lenses through which existing problems can be viewed, etc. etc. I think these things are vitally important if society is to change for the better. And so I can't stress enough that I agree with everything you wrote. The word "diversity", though, as it is most commonly used and understood in this country, does not refer to diversity of thought or ideas (but to something much more superficial and much less important imho). I would have a much higher opinion of the word if it did.
Exactly. That's the time when diversity is a strength. It's more of a weakness when you need cohesiveness to get things done. Too much squabbling and debate comes from diversity to ever be too efficient.
Let's get a puffin meme that says black people should have tougher admissions standards for the next 20 years to make the last few years of affirmative action fair.
I'm for equal opportunity, but I don't think that means equal participation. I think the best person should get no matter the race. IP should get the job over a woman or minority if his qualifications.are higher
