Rethinking diversity

By By Craig Ziemba / guest columnist
June 8, 2003
I walked into the break room after returning to my civilian career this week and noticed the latest company newsletter was devoted to the celebration of diversity. Glossy pictures of happy employees were carefully arranged black, white, yellow, red, boy, girl, boy, girl to ensure that the company played no favorites. That's fine with me.
In the corresponding articles, however, the newsletter appeared to be a tortured attempt to see how many times the words multicultural and diversity could be used in a sentence. We were encouraged to increase our awareness of those who are different from ourselves by learning about their cultures and religions. Recommended activities included attending multicultural festivals and watching ethnic movies and plays.
While reading the newsletter, though, I couldn't help but wonder if we aren't creating more problems than we're solving by emphasizing what makes us different rather than what makes us alike.
Continually focusing on our various ethnicities defeats the purpose of the American motto, E plurubus unum ("Out of many, one") and reduces our society into a jumbled collection of tribes competing for cultural domination. Our ancestors may have come from all over the world; they may be all different colors; but they became one people. Our common trait has become a love of freedom.
Dream of
a better life
Where you came from isn't half as important as where you're going. I don't love or respect a person any more or less if his ancestors came from Africa, Malaysia, El Salvador or England. What matters is whether he shares the American dream of passing on a better life to his children and is willing to work for it. Being American isn't a color; it's a mindset of freedom and individual moral responsibility.
There's really no need to classify Americans as Hispanic, African or European. I don't consider myself to be a Polish-American even though my nose (and my IQ) tells where grandpa came from. I'm just an American, no more and no less. My heritage is European, but my home and my heart are American to the core.
Some people harbor a longing for their "mother country" like lost children looking for a biological parent. That may be a part of a natural curiosity, and there's nothing wrong with that. But I've traveled all over the world and I'm pretty sure there's not a single adopted American who would trade places with with his biological brother on any other continent.
Blessed
Let's be honest, the poor in America would be considered wealthy anywhere in Asia, Africa, or South America. Here all Americans have the opportunity to succeed. We have been blessed.
What concerns me about the recent fad of multiculturalism, however, is that no nation ever succeeded by pulling itself apart. Without a common culture, a common language and common ideals, we will cease to be a people with a common future.
America's experiment with freedom and democracy survived wars and economic depression, but it cannot survive the polarization of our people along ethnic and racial lines.
Martin Luther King's dream of a world where people will be judged not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character is deeply rooted in the American dream. America's future rests not on our race or our past, but on our hopes for tomorrow.
Craig Ziemba is a pilot who lives in Meridian.

Franklin County

PROGRESS 2024: Veteran Spotlight – Mousey Brown

News

Russellville First Baptist Church receives historical marker

Franklin County

PROGRESS 2024: Meeting a higher standard – Russellville High School JROTC

News

RCS BOE announces new superintendent  

News

Miss Dream Girl Pageant names winners

Franklin County

First Metro Bank hosts FAME Girls’ Ranch donation drive

News

PCHS holds annual Shelby Grissom Memorial Fashion Show

Franklin County

PROGRESS 2024: VFW Post 5184 – ‘No One Does More For Veterans’

Features

Supporting students’ futures

Features

Red Bay Garden Club discusses amaryllis planting

Franklin County

UA announces local students for fall 2023 President’s, Dean’s, graduation lists

News

School news

Franklin County

PROGRESS 2024: Veteran Spotlight – Troy Oliver

Franklin County

Appropriations bill passes, allots more than $3 million for new Russellville library/multipurpose center 

Franklin County

Franklin County Cattlemen’s Association names Cattleman of the Year 

Franklin County

Franklin County votes: Unofficial March 5 primary election results 

Franklin County

Funding for new Russellville library, multipurpose community center expected this week

Features

Faces of Franklin County: BTCPA

News

GFWC Russellville Book Lovers Club sponsors downtown art crawl

Franklin County

PROGRESS 2024: Veteran Spotlight – Cody Bragwell

Franklin County

42nd annual Miss RHS pageant names winners 

News

Miss RHS pageant takes place Friday

Franklin County

Political announcement: David Hester speaks about run for reelection as county commissioner

Franklin County

BTCPA auditions for final production of season take place March 3-4 

x