I was hashing with one of my conservative acquaintances at the Gold's Gym dry sauna. He said that he thought that the "melting pot" was the greatest thing for the country and that"multiculturalism" was leading to its downfall. He asked me if I thought multiculturalism was good or bad. I answered that it depends on what he means by "multiculturalism." He then stated, "Don't ‘go lawyer’ on me."
When I asked him to define what he meant by each term, we discovered that we shared more that we agreed on, than not. I (who think "multiculturalism" is a good thing) could point out many damaging and negative things that can be categorized under the term "melting pot." He agreed. Likewise, he could point out some destructive and divisive components of "multiculturalism." I agreed. This is because the meanings that certain political and emotional terms take on often have no connection to how different groups of people associate them or believe them to mean, depending on what that group’s experience was with the term.
Ask a Native American what he or she thinks of America's "melting pot" and you may hear a very different sentiment from that of a Protestant, Scottish immigrant. And, for good reasons. Ask Arizonans living on the Arizona/Mexico border what they think of "multiculturalism" and they will express a different view of it than professors at Harvard University. ( I don't mean that Mexican culture has dimmed their view of the term, but the clash of the "drug culture" on both sides, and the chaos of our immigration policies have caused negativity on both sides.)
Politicians and the pseudo-entertainment journalists (especially in a election year) want to emphasize the disagreements and ignore the common ground. They don't want us to discuss our consensus, nor do they want us to understand the meanings of the polarizing terms they use, because they want to use those terms to cause greater division. They want to whip us into fearing and loathing our opponents so that they can exploit it for votes.
Language matters. We sometimes think we know what others believe, or are saying, because of the labels they use and the labels we give them. However, a closer look often reveals that we have more in common than our politicians and their talking heads want us to know.
So, “go lawyer” on your neighbors, friends, and loved ones. They'll thank you for it.
Loren M. Lambert © August 26, 2012
When I asked him to define what he meant by each term, we discovered that we shared more that we agreed on, than not. I (who think "multiculturalism" is a good thing) could point out many damaging and negative things that can be categorized under the term "melting pot." He agreed. Likewise, he could point out some destructive and divisive components of "multiculturalism." I agreed. This is because the meanings that certain political and emotional terms take on often have no connection to how different groups of people associate them or believe them to mean, depending on what that group’s experience was with the term.
Ask a Native American what he or she thinks of America's "melting pot" and you may hear a very different sentiment from that of a Protestant, Scottish immigrant. And, for good reasons. Ask Arizonans living on the Arizona/Mexico border what they think of "multiculturalism" and they will express a different view of it than professors at Harvard University. ( I don't mean that Mexican culture has dimmed their view of the term, but the clash of the "drug culture" on both sides, and the chaos of our immigration policies have caused negativity on both sides.)
Politicians and the pseudo-entertainment journalists (especially in a election year) want to emphasize the disagreements and ignore the common ground. They don't want us to discuss our consensus, nor do they want us to understand the meanings of the polarizing terms they use, because they want to use those terms to cause greater division. They want to whip us into fearing and loathing our opponents so that they can exploit it for votes.
Language matters. We sometimes think we know what others believe, or are saying, because of the labels they use and the labels we give them. However, a closer look often reveals that we have more in common than our politicians and their talking heads want us to know.
So, “go lawyer” on your neighbors, friends, and loved ones. They'll thank you for it.
Loren M. Lambert © August 26, 2012
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