Sitting Eagle by Harley Brown, courtesy of www.art.com
In high school, my social studies teacher denied that U.S. democracy was a melting pot of diverse people. He called it a stew instead, a social order in which various cultures honored their heritage but adapted to new norms. As the child of an immigrant parent, I felt that this was true and that a variety of perspectives enriched the country.
Science has proved that my assumption is true. A society that requires people of different backgrounds to interact escapes “groupthink.” Instead, it exposes individuals to new ideas and enhances their creativity. To make diversity work, however, people must be aware of their biases and be willing to change.
If too many among us are unwilling to consider new ideas, progress becomes impossible. Communities fracture into groups that war against each other. When Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth imposes his religion on members of the armed forces, or chooses to believe that testosterone levels determine a soldier’s competence, he exposes his biases, particularly the one against women in the military.
Hegseth’s views are extreme, probably illegal, and promote conflict rather than cohesion. The flaws in his leadership are obvious to most of us. But no one is free of bias. Kamala Harris’ defeat in the 2024 presidential election is a tragic example. When some Michigan Democrats decided her views about the Middle East weren’t pure enough, they abandoned her and opened the door to Donald Trump’s victory.
Except for the American Indian, we are all immigrants here. A majority come for new opportunities and a new life. Even so, too many retain old ways of thinking, clasping ancient hatreds to their bosoms as if those hatreds were a sick child. My Costa Rican mother clung to her distrust of gringos. As a result, I am one who studied history in school, aware that none of the books mentioned William Walker, an American who attempted to conquer Central America and expand slavery in the region.
I do not begrudge her biases. They were reasonable for her time and place. But second- and third-generation immigrants have an obligation to advance the nation’s ideals. To do less is to mock our forebears, who arrived with the hope of a fresh start.
True, one set of “immigrants ” came without hope. They were the enslaved people from Africa. To their credit, they have made their separate peace with the injustice done to them, and many have lost their lives in foreign wars to defend this country. To these “immigrants,” much is owed.
Frankly, over the course of centuries, I can think of no culture that has escaped being conquered and brutalized by another…except America. What a bright flame we are! Most of us see and feel an obligation to preserve that heritage for future generations. May that always be so.
To that end, we need to get our priorities straight. We should stop thinking of ourselves as African Americans, Irish Americans, Palestinian Americans, Italian Americans, and the like. Instead, let us think of ourselves as Americans first: American Africans, American Irish, American Palestinians, American Italians…
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