Case for Multiculturalism

A Case for Multiculturalism

One of the things we learn from the study of evolution is that God loves diversity. Evolution is a creative process that moves forward by reaching out toward a greater and greater diversity of species and of individuals. [1]

Albert Nolan

Abundance Thinking

What you see depends upon what you focus on.

One aspect of the fear of cultural diversity is the fear of deprivation. If there isn’t enough for us and them, then I need to preserve “my own” --  money… space … job … pieces of ground … resources … health care … place on the road … classroom … vacation … etc., etc. Can the dominant culture survive a watering down of resources? This is most dramatically played out in the United States in resistance to undocumented immigrants.

When people fail to share, others will end up with little or nothing.

Deficiency thinking:

n  engenders greed;

n  provides a climate of corruption;

n  neutralizes resilience;

n  is predictive of a negative outcome.

Abundance thinking is an alternate way of viewing resources and relationships.

Abundance thinking:

n  establishes a sense of competence;

n  provides a climate for security, ethical action, generosity and partnership;

n  fosters resilience;

n  is predictive of a positive outcome.

Abundance thinking is based on giving and sharing.

In a lecture delivered at the First Congregational Church in Berkeley in October of 2010, economist Robert Reich, chief of the Department of Labor under Bill Clinton, demonstrated that most of the wealth was in the hands of the very few, leaving the majority either extremely poor or with less purchasing power (adjusted for inflation) than in the 1930's. He said this situation is not only divisive but economically dangerous. He advocated for an economic restructuring to enable shared prosperity, thereby generating economic vitality. Although, with shared prosperity, the moneyed elite would have less, at the same time they would have less in an economically vibrant environment (more appealing than having more in a stagnant or dead economy.) Moreover, this would create political good will in a world where there is increasing political animosity.

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.

Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure…

It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us …

We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliants, gorgeous, talented and fabulous?’ Actually, who are you not to be?…

You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn’t serve the world: There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you…

And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same…

We were born to manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone…

As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

Nelson Mandela, 1994 Inaugural Speech

Multicultural Partnership

Multiculturalism is an opportunity for partnership.

Synergism, the energy that is greater than the simple combination of forces, results when diverse strengths can align for a common purpose. Community – derived from the Latin words cum (with) and munire (to build) – means to “build together”. Abundance thinking and synergism create positive, creative partnership with a focused goal.

Degrees of Partnership

Partnership has many degrees, depending on opportunity, desire and the level of intimacy risked.

Those degrees include:

·       Mutuality

o   Based on respect and reciprocity

·       Allegiance

o   Based on Interdependence

·       Alliance

o   Based on commitment

·       Covenant

o   Based on Solidarity

Covenant, the highest degree of partnership, was the word chosen by the writers of Scripture to describe the faithful, unbreakable relationship of God with God’s people. It is also the word describing the basic union of persons: the wedding between husband and wife. The 50% divorce rate we experience in the United States indicate, in some part, the failure of heart in a covenanted relationship.

In the words of Pope John Paul II:

Solidarity helps us to see the “other” – whether a person, people, or nation – not just as some kind of instrument, with a work capacity and physical strength to be exploited at low cost and then discarded when no longer useful, but as our “neighbor”, a “helper” to be made a sharer, on par with ourselves, in the banquet of life to which we all are equally invited by God.         

Pope John Paul II, On Social Concerns