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Voiced: Diversity is a Strength

By Josh Tolentino

Staff Writer

Editor’s Note: “Voiced” is political opinion column taking a liberal stance. While “Voiced” reflects the thoughts and beliefs of the columnist, it may not reflect views of The Pioneer, which is an objective, unbiased entity.

Some people find diversity to not be a strength but a thorn in today’s political climate, staggering the growth of the American people. Certain individuals feel that equality is our strength, but what happens if there is no equality? People have different economic and social standings all the time. How can you say there is equality if “stop and frisk” affects people we know personally? How can you say there is equality when the law stunts the growth of certain cultures? How can there be unity when our country is more divided than it has ever been?

Affirmative action at colleges exists to help certain students who did not have the same opportunities others were. If you criticize the ideas that the less fortunate should not be helped, what does that say about what you stand for? Where is the equality in that? Policies like this exist to level the playing field. It is not special treatment, but it’s to help make up for the treatment some people did not get.

When looking at the country as a whole, diversity has helped us progress; many opportunities are available for a wider variety of people. Our way of life is a cultural diffusion of other societies.

On the basis of international relations, what neo-conservatives argue is the United States must encourage the spread of democracy around the world. But what is a country’s place to assert its sphere of influence on societies that may not want it? People who blindly follow conservatism and whine about foreign countries tend to forget that the citizens of a society mean no harm just because they are different.

A government is not always representative of its people, as clearly evident in the United States, where many Americans do not always support government decisions. Continuing this notion of spreading democracy has not always benefited people. For example, Yemen, Afghanistan, Vietnam, Syria, and the Philippines were all “given” democracy by the United States with the notion it will create equality; instead it resulted in civil war. Look at the lives lost because a certain first world country thought it was right.

Diversity is not only our strength but it is the crux of American society. It drives us to do better. It teaches us to understand the world around us. This country was forged by immigrants meant to welcome people with open arms, regardless of their race or creed. Inequality will always exist; racism, prejudice, spite will always reign in the echoes of certain groups. But in between the lines and at the tables of the legislative chambers, acceptance will as well.

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