Understandable and commendable as our motivations might have been, we did not think through possible unintended consequences and implications.\u00a0 In emphasizing, celebrating, or tolerating, our superficial differences, we neglected to consider our much more important and more profound human commonalities<\/em>. Celebrating diversity, i.e., differences, further separates or segregates us. It hardens our image of others as different and alien from ourselves. We become insiders, and they become outsiders. Diversity celebration is a double edge sword that unwittingly sets us apart.<\/p>\n At best, celebrating our differences of dress, diet, dance, music, or skin color, a \u201ctourist approach,\u201d may help our appreciation of soul food, soul music, egg rolls, or tacos \u2013 but it does not cut through racism or bigotry. There are many bigots who enjoy soul music, egg rolls, tacos, pizza, Latin dances, or vacations in Cancun. <\/em><\/span><\/p>\n At best, celebrating our differences of dress, diet, dance, music, or skin color, a \u201ctourist approach,\u201d may help our appreciation of soul food, soul music, egg rolls, or tacos \u2013 but it does not cut through racism or bigotry. There are many bigots who enjoy soul music, egg rolls, tacos, pizza, Latin dances, or vacations in Cancun.<\/p>\n At worst, some cultural habits and practices are, by modern standards, despicable. We do not want to celebrate beheadings, honor killings, slavery, or stoning, just because they are practices of some culture. Even ethnic foods are not all healthy, just because they are ethnic. Even a \u201cMediterranean\u201d diet, without cherry picking, includes unhealthy Italian white bread, pasta, fat-laden cheeses, salami, and bologna. Rice, a staple in many parts of the world, is now known to have high arsenic levels — especially dangerous for children. These cultural habits are nothing to celebrate.<\/p>\n Yes, we can all take pride in our beloved cultural cuisine, music, dance, finery, literature, architecture, or customs. But if we look back in history honestly, we also find skeletons in the closets of every ethnic group, race, religion and nation. Those \u201cgreat\u201d empires that we like to study were \u201cgreat\u201d on the backs of others who were victims. Most every culture historically practiced slavery, female oppression, child subjugation, human sacrifice, wars of aggression, etc. at times in their history.<\/p>\n In fact, we continue to pack those closets with fresh bones. Celebrating diversity tends to keep our ethnic closet doors locked. Not acknowledging our ethnicity or emphasizing only the more superficial positives is to not understand ourselves or our cultures.\u00a0 We all become rather self-righteous self-promoters. We become the proverbial braggart trying to impress others, but with little credibility and with few admirers. \u00a0This superficial, cherry-picked tourist approach to bridge building promotes little understanding of ourselves or others.<\/p>\n Why not then stress the characteristics that will promote understanding of ourselves and of others? Those are the cultural characteristics that we all share<\/em> in common as human beings. We all<\/em> feel pain and joy. We all<\/em> laugh, cry, hurt, feel hungry and need to eat. We also as human beings or groups sometimes feel aggrieved, insulted, disgraced, humiliated, wronged, oppressed, or outraged. These emotions cannot be easily quelled or root problems solved by egg rolls, tacos, or even soul music. They can be solved by more deeply honestly understanding others and ourselves and learning lessons from the past as to how we, all of us<\/em> and our respective ancestors, got ourselves into this predicament.<\/p>\n We all <\/em>have succumbed to the worst of human emotions. Historically, we have all <\/em>treated women and children horribly, enslaved the weaker or meeker, and made ourselves the center of the universe to the detriment of others. We are all <\/em>vulnerable to COVID and diseases.<\/p>\n Perhaps now we can begin to see a glimmer of empathy and how we can help and support each other. Perhaps now we can guide our own lives and lead our own communities with the empowerment of deeper understanding. Only now can we see clearly that we are not so different from others with the same human enjoyments of life and the same human flaws. Only now can we fully appreciate that we are all of the same human race, with the same needs, the same challenges and all of us needing cooperative positive-sum solutions.<\/p>\n Part of an eight part series by Peter Porr.<\/em><\/p>\n >>>>><<<<<<\/p>\n Download PDf version<\/a> of this article to share with colleagues and staff.<\/p>\n >>>>><<<<<<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/se-asiacenter.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/diversity-banner.png?resize=736%2C124&ssl=1\")
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