Nation’s diversity deserves respect

If you’ll indulge me for a few moments, I’d like to share a few thoughts that have been running around in my head for the past few days.

I’ve noticed over the course of my relatively short life that most people are afraid of something. Some people are afraid of insects; others munch on them at the Bug Bowl. Some people are terrified out of their skull of speaking in public, while others receive (by my sheer bewilderment) A’s in COM 114.

Then there are people who are afraid of each other. Especially people who are different.

We’re taught from an early age (at least I hope that we all have been) that discriminating against people because of their outward appearance is wrong. Male or female. Short or tall. Fat or skinny. Black or white or yellow or red or brown or any shade in between.

But what about the traits we can’t see? Most of the intolerance in today’s world doesn’t come from racial or sexual clashes, but ideological ones.

Gay or straight. Christian or Jew or Muslim or Hindu or Buddhist or otherwise. Pro-choice or pro-life. Republican or Democrat.

Beliefs or preferences we have in every little facet in life, from religion to favorite ice cream flavor, make up an essential part of who we are. Beliefs are a beautiful thing, because they are derived from what we’ve experienced in our life. Not necessarily from what we read in books or are told, but from what we have determined to be true, if for nobody else but ourselves.

There are people out there, not only here at Purdue, but also in the land beyond red brick buildings, that can’t appreciate the diversity in this nation. Despite all the stupid stuff we do as a nation (like "Survivor" and the XFL), I’m damn proud to be an American. Nowhere else on this planet could you find the diversity found in this country. We're a nation built upon diversity. Most of our ancestors came here on big wooden boats from places like Ireland, Scotland, England and Africa. So in a land where all we really have in common is our differences, you would think that tolerance and understanding would be abundant.

But instead of celebrating the different cultures and beliefs this nation holds, there are some that choose to be afraid of the dissimilarities. Fear gives birth to anger, and enough anger spawns into hate.

Look at the newspapers. This isn’t something that lies beneath the surface of our society. It’s sitting there, glaring you in the face. People who bear this hatred carry out so much in the name of their own beliefs. People are dying in the Middle East partly because of religion. People are killed here in our nation for their sexual orientation or their stance on the abortion issue.

Some well-intentioned people believe that the answer to the hatred and violence in this nation is to reintroduce religion and prayer into schools, just like the "good old days." I believe this thinking is erroneous to say the very least. When people speak of reintroducing religion, they are most commonly referring to the Protestant belief structure. Just in case you were curious, the Protestant religion is not (insert gasp here) practiced by everyone in this nation. Reintroducing prayer and religion back into schools would only create yet another visible rift between this nation's schoolchildren.

All I’m really asking for here is a bit of tolerance. Not everybody believes the same thing you do. You may think what you believe is the divine truth, but for a lot of issues, there isn’t necessarily a right or wrong answer, or an answer at all.

So while some people may think there’s an all-powerful supreme being, others may swear there’s nothing up there but stars and interstellar dust.

Don’t look down upon other people because they believe differently than you do. And don’t think that it’s your duty to persuade others to believe in something in which you believe. Beliefs are hard to change in people, and chances are, life-shaking events tend to alter them better than words alone.

Tolerance, that’s all there is to it. And it’s not tough to accomplish. All it entails is that you judge a man or woman not on their ethnicity or culture or beliefs, but by the quality of their character, coupled with the maturity to respect the differences you may have.

Well, I hope I didn’t lose you on that spiel. I’m new at this columnist gig, and I’ll eventually get the hang of it. But I know there are some of you out there that don’t believe in what I’m talking about. You'll continue to actively destroy the beauty of diversity, or worse yet, stand idly by and watch it wither away. But, your beliefs are important as well, and I'll do my best to tolerate yours as well as you can tolerate mine.

Matt Poston is a sophomore in the School of Management. He can be emailed at opinions@purdueexponent.org

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