Multi-culturalism – not as a positive lived experience – but as a social policy is a politics of division. I agree.
It divides people into cultures and puts cultures (the most regressive aspects) before citizens. But in response, Minister Eric Pickles says a return of Christianity in Britain’s public life will bring about the community cohesion that is lacking under multiculturalism.
No it won’t. Especially because not everyone in a ‘majority’ or ‘minority’ group think alike. In a plural society, with many beliefs and opinions, you need to keep beliefs out in order to bring about any sort of social cohesion.
And as a first step, you need a concept of citizenship that goes beyond people’s beliefs and to some extent keeps their beliefs our of the state and public insititutions. And you need secularism, which is a minimum precondition, for basic rights and freedoms.
But they will never learn…
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On a positive note, the fight back by those wanting a larger role for Christianity in the public space (as if having an established church and bishops in the house of lords is not enough) is because they are feeling the pressure of secularists. This is a very good thing. The other good thing is that all this talk of a return to Christian values will get secularists speaking out though they may have been silent when it was about Islam’s role in the public space due to bogus accusations of racism and Islamophobia…
So bring it on.
We need to contrast multiculturalism with the melting pot.
Canada is officially multicultural. Canada says bring your language, culture, festivals, cuisine, and those values which do not conflict with Canadian law when you come to Canada. Learn English or French. Your culture will enrich our country. And this actually happens. Not, I admit, without tension. But generally it is great.
America is a melting pot. America says come to America, forget your language, forget your culture. Learn English, assimilate and become American.
This works great, provided you are of European heritage. It doesn’t work so great for Africans or Asians. In the eyes of many whites, they will never be “real Americans”. The melting pot actually accentuates differences and increases racism.
What people really are concerned about is cultural relativism, that perverse doctrine that says we can’t criticize a culture unless we are part of that culture. This idea was invented by anthropologists to try to counter the missionaries telling savages how to dress and what kind of sex they should have, but it seems to have backfired and is now used to justify the oppression of women and violations of human rights, or to support appeals for Sharia law. This need to be resisted, and often is resisted by people from the same culture that is trying to impose values we wouldn’t like. Those people fled the repression. They don’t want it to follow them to their new country.
Cultural diversity is wonderful. Let’s not knock it because it has growing pains.
Yes, it depressing to have to listen to the comments of half-wits like Pickles but frankly he keeps scoring blinding own goals so maybe we should encourage home to speak out more!