Rediscovering the Meaning of Diversity

In light of the recent media coverage that has surrounded the University, now is the perfect time to bring up the issue that exists within the fight for equality, freedom of expression, speech, and religion, and diversity. Using the example of the satirical column written by a conservative student at the University of Michigan, it is clear that those who fight most aggressively for equal rights and privileges only want to hear opinions that coincide with their own. Resistance to differing opinions can be attributed to the one thing that those who advocate diversity fight the hardest to break down: intolerance.

Intolerance, bigotry, parochialism, narrow-mindedness, ignorance…call it whatever you fancy, all groups of people are guilty of it. This is not an issue between conservatives and liberals, although this is clearly what it has been made out to be. Intolerance is not a quality that corresponds to the political spectrum; in fact, the correlation between the two has become less and less visible. This is not a problem of any particular age, race, ethnicity, sex, gender, religion, sexual orientation, or class. Every single person in the world is capable of being intolerant, and intolerance is displayed across the board, from every single group of people.

This negative quality can come from a variety of sources; however, it is apparent that most people are intolerant due to the fact that they think that their opinions are right, and everyone who does not agree is wrong. Instead of resisting the opinions of others and attacking them for having differing viewpoints, alternating beliefs need to be acknowledged and celebrated in order to be a diverse society.

How can diversity, a state so strived-for, ever be possible to attain if the definition of diversity is not even maintained? According to Merriam-Webster, the definition of diversity is the following: “the quality or state of having many different forms, types, ideas, etc.” Each one of the aspects of diversity, forms, types, and ideas, are important, but they are only truly meaningful when they are all being displayed together. Many people believe that it is imperative for an institution to honor diversity by including and having representation from all races, religions, genders, sexual orientations, ethnicities, ages, classes, and sexes, but why? So it looks like all types of discrimination are nonexistent? Because that is not the case. There is always going to be discrimination. If it is not racial discrimination, religious discrimination, or gender discrimination, ideological discrimination, which I would argue, is most detrimental to society.

Dick Lamm, former three-time governor of Colorado, said the following in a speech: “Diverse peoples worldwide are mostly engaged in hating each other – that is, when they are not killing each other. A diverse, peaceful, or stable society is against most historical precedent.” Why is it impossible to have a diverse society? I do not think that any physical attributes make diversity unfeasible. I believe that intolerance is what makes diversity so hard to attain and uphold. To illustrate this, look at warfare. The majority of the wars that have taken place were not started because of, for example, race, but for a difference in ideas. Yes, perhaps because of different ideas and stigmas surrounding race, but not because of race alone. On the other hand, how many religious wars have been fought in history? Religion is all about beliefs, not any physical attributes. It is because of people’s unwillingness to accept beliefs besides their own that such hate and tension is created, and can lead to such awful events.

Thus, all aspects of diversity, especially ideas, need to be valued and practiced in order to generate success, and at the very least, peace. Because what good is it to have a whole country with the same thoughts and opinions about everything? The answer is no good. It is through different opinions, backgrounds, and outlooks on life that leads to innovation, solutions, and a better society…not through meeting quotas to hide inevitable discrimination. Until all people address their own intolerances, true diversity will never be achieved…it will always be undermined by unwillingness to accept and appreciate what it actually means to have diversity in a society.

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