Posted on 08/05/2007 7:48:56 PM PDT by george76
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...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...
"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 iht.com ...
“. . . 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. . . .”
duuuuhhhh . . .ya think?
Very succinct and to the point!
I came to that conclusion - years ago...
Harvard is behind the curve again...
that’s not surprising.
where i live most of the mcdonalds’s employees are mexicans
and many of them do not like gringos. some are rude.
i complained to one white manager about never getting the correct order,
and she said, “well i can tell you why you don’t get the correct order—
they don’t speak english!”
Sounds like giving manners lessons to someone who just stubbed his toe while trying to get to the bathroom in the dark after someone unplugged the night light.
“Diversity is our strength!”
Yeah, THAT sure would have seen us through the wars of the last century.
UNITY!!! is our strength.
Morons!
Strength comes from unity of purpose, not diversity of thought.
Anyone who has ever played team sports knows that.
Gee I’m shocked. Shocked I tell ya.
War is Peace
Freedom is Slavery
Diversity is our Strength
Some illegals think that this is aztec land.
They shoot up our 7-11’s and at the local cops too.
The Balkans = the original melting pot.
Da longer you verk here, diverse it gets.
We know this, but the liberals do not.
LOL
Da longer you verk here, diverse it gets.
Diversity always happens when any number of peopel combine forces and effort. 10 people on balance will come up with more different ideas than 1 person. 10 people can do more than 1 person, usually.
But not always. 1 person can come up with more better ideas than 10 people. While 10 people can do more than 1 person, sometimes 1 person can accomplish much more than 10 people.
There are just too many variables. To say diversity is in itself a great strength oversimplifies things.
Some are nice, others are not.
But it is shocking to find a non-Hispanic/non-black employee of McDonald's, Burger King, etc. here in the DC metro area.
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