Posted on 10/18/2015 9:58:51 AM PDT by bestintxas
IT HAS BECOME increasingly popular to speak of racial and ethnic diversity as a civic strength. From multicultural festivals to pronouncements from political leaders, the message is the same: our differences make us stronger.
But a massive new study, based on detailed interviews of nearly 30,000 people across America, has concluded just the opposite. Harvard political scientist Robert Putnam -- famous for "Bowling Alone," his 2000 book on declining civic engagement -- has found that the greater the diversity in a community, the fewer people vote and the less they volunteer, the less they give to charity and work on community projects. In the most diverse communities, neighbors trust one another about half as much as they do in the most homogenous settings. The study, the largest ever on civic engagement in America, found that virtually all measures of civic health are lower in more diverse settings.
"The extent of the effect is shocking," says Scott Page, a University of Michigan political scientist.
The study comes at a time when the future of the American melting pot is the focus of intense political debate, from immigration to race-based admissions to schools, and it poses challenges to advocates on all sides of the issues. The study is already being cited by some conservatives as proof of the harm large-scale immigration causes to the nation's social fabric. But with demographic trends already pushing the nation inexorably toward greater diversity, the real question may yet lie ahead: how to handle the unsettling social
"We can't ignore the findings," says Ali Noorani, executive director of the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition. "The big question we have to ask ourselves is, what do we do about it; what are the next steps?"
(Excerpt) Read more at boston.com ...
I've absolutely no idea what he Noachide laws might be.
This nation was founded on the Ten Commandments (do not need a dictionary to know them) and commonly accepted Protestant work ethic.
Todays idea of diversity virtually demands that both of those concepts be marginalized or downright excoriated in favor of any competing social whim or challenge.
It's a single, commonly accepted, social premise that can unite a nation regardless of variance in color, accent, or individual religious beliefs.
You could rename the commandments and drop "Protestant", simply call them the Eleven irrefutable principles of (this) society then take them seriously in education and governence, and ethnic diversity among citizens would work out fine.
I used to believe this, but now I'm not sure I can even define "American culture" anymore.
That's what they're doing to America.
Well it ain’t Sharia law, and expanding Mexico’s borders by giving back California & Texas.
Diversity is strength. Tell the big lie enough and people will start to believe it.
“Can someone relay one concrete example of where diversity has been beneficial without some negative effect?”
No, those on the left are fond of saying “diversity is what made this country great”. Our country is great for many reasons. Our economic system and Constitution has allowed people of diverse backgrounds to work, support their families and thrive despite their diversity. We also had a common language, these immigrants would learn English. Diversity has been used for the last 25 years to divide the population by religion, language, race, nationality, gender, income and now sexual preference, to weaken America and aid the illegal invaders to destroy America the country and ideal.
Break anything.............
ANYTHING AT ALL.
Fracture it into pieces and IT WILL NOT be any stronger.
It’s NOT rocket science.
Diversity does not mean anything except not white male. Although in some contexts it can be expanded to also mean not asian male. You can have a room of 50 black people who all have identical thoughts, and that would be diverse. Ironically, white males are by far a minority on this planet
Your hypothesis about Nordics is supported by the fact that the gene pool throughout northern Europe is much more closely related than elsewhere. It's been offered as an explanation of why the welfare state has fared better (until now) in Germany than other places.
The same hypothesis also suggests that the Nordics could turn on a dime and kill all the auslander invaders, the guilty and the innocent. Stuff happens.
Diversity of thought can strengthen a creative endeavor ... for example in design and brainstorming sessions. I’ve seen this first hand hundreds of times. People have an idea and then open it up for free alternative proposals or ideas ... almost always end up with a better idea or product than the original idea or concept.
Lack of diversity of thought is how GM and the auto industry in general had their asses handed to them when the American people started preferring cars designed elsewhere.
However, this is not the kind of diversity the Diversity Police have in mind. Theirs is a superficial diversity.
In unity strength. Diversity: from divide
Duh.
Agree, that a mixture at times can be good. Libs strong-arm this to produce the negative impact of reverse discrimination.
Diversity (like much else detrimental in modern society) is largely a response to liberal guilt.
First in academics, later in much of the rest of society “affirmative action” was found to be insufficient to bring about the racial and ethnic mix liberals desired, and blatant quotas would not pass muster for the majority of Americans irrespective of their racial or ethnic identity, so those in power proposed “diversity” as a positive good.
Thus individuals who might not provide the skills required for a particular position could instead (if they were of the correct background) contribute something positive through this nebulous concept of “diversity”. Now what exactly a different skin color or societal uprbringing might add of real value is a question that’s seldom addressed - it’s just accepted as a given that “diversity” is good, and that it can compensate for tangible shortcomings.
So the “Melting Pot” idea has been correct all along, one language, one culture, tight borders and a strong nation.
And while they are pushing “celebrate diversity” the zampolits are pitting one group against the other. The concept of common interest being the strength is completely lost, or worse, called “acting white”.
“Diversity has brought us Ferguson”
How did diversity bring Ferguson?
I think a great place called Texas in is history s a great example of diversity.
What the leftists call diversity is Marxist agit-prop divide and conquer.
True diversity, or variety, is American.
E pluribus unum.
I have often wondered about volunteering in relationship with making the U.S. work. What little I remember about my Grandfather was that he was involved in a number of local organizations. My father was involved in a lot; Boy Scouts, on the board of a local Savings & Loan, teaching technical stuff at night, various jobs in various hobby organizations, cataloging exhibits at a local History Museum.
I have volunteered in a few things, but not nearly as much. I posted here about my experiences in in a group doing land planning to reduce local flooding — this was right after someone died because of repeated flooding.
Someone posted back, “Why volunteer? If they don’t pay you, it isn’t worth being done.” There was a lot of grief given by people who did not volunteer, but most of the suggestions we came up with were adopted by three counties, a dozen or so towns & cities, and several local governmental entities, so something good came out of it, too. The rules were uniform instead of just passing the water downstream as fast as possible and making it someone elses problem.
Is that why we are having more problems nowadays getting anything done? No one wants to get involved unless they are paid for it.
In my opinion it wasn't the ethnic or any other kind of "diversity" that made the past immigrants so bennificial to America. All those people were the same, in a few crucial ways; industrious, intelligent, devoted.
These people were not the garbage that we roll out the red carpet for now. Many were the best and the brightest and wanted to come to our Great Nation to succeed because their fomer countries long ago made that impossible for most. They all desired to be American, not just live here.
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