Brookfield Basics

The title of this column is not my own; I borrowed it from the title of a 1987 book written by Professor Allan Bloom. The subtitle to that book is “how higher education has failed democracy and impoverished the souls of today’s students”.

As one can surmise Dr. Bloom has many convicting things to say about our University system; in particular, its respective administration and faculty. His thesis claims that this group has failed and ultimately betrayed their charter and their students. On balance I agree with the good Doctor, but that is the subject of a future column.

Unlike the book, this column is about the subject of multiculturalism, and I chose to borrow its title because I think it is descriptive of something that is happening on a cultural level as well.

Today a great wave of multiculturalism is sweeping over us. It is a tsunami which drowns out all opposition, or even the murmur of any voices that have the temerity to question where all of this might be taking us. Belief in its worth, belief in its inherent value and efficacy, have become a creed. Having lost sight of the real objective, which is to treat all INDIVIDUALS with dignity and respect, we now redouble our efforts to pursue this elusive grail of “multiculturalism”, as if the pursuit is its own, self-evident reward.

I have had the good fortune to travel many parts of the world. This, along with my love of history, has developed a reasonable familiarity with the major religions, cultures, and histories of this planet. I value them all, and it goes without saying that they are all part of the mosaic of human history.

But this wave of wave of multiculturalism concerns me on two fronts.

First, in our haste to treat “cultures” with respect, we are overlooking the principle this is predicated on, namely, that we must treat PEOPLE with respect. This, it would seem to me, is the more desirable objective; the proper relation to and treatment of people as individuals. I don’t know how to treat a “culture”, nor do I ever encounter “cultures” in my daily activities. I do encounter people of different ethnicities, and when I do, it never occurs to me to treat their “culture” with respect. What does occur to me is to treat THEM with respect. Isn’t that the idea? Wouldn’t we like to see more emphasis on what Martin Luther King Jr. proscribed, by letting “the content of their character” be our primary consideration, not “the color of their skin”.

Secondly, I fear that in our sweeping efforts to force-feed ourselves and our children a diet of multiculturalism, we have arrived at a place where we devalue and forget the meaning of AMERICAN culture. Make no mistake about it, at some levels, and in particular on our University Campuses, this “devaluation” is very much a CONSCIOUS objective. America - her history and her role in the world, is viewed with utter contempt by many people of authority in these institutions. To many of them, there is no evil so great that it cannot be attributed to our nation. Conversely, there is no good so obvious as to allow for any credit to be given.

Ronald Reagan spoke frequently and passionately about the role of America, both in history and in the present. His comments were evocative of Churchill, who in the 1930’s tried to steel England to her task as he outlined his nation’s role in standing up to fascism and to Hitler.

America is a melting pot. This is a fact of history so obvious and whose benefits are so numerous, as to be un-debatable. But the great waves of immigration that occurred in the 19th and early 20th centuries were markedly different from those we see today. In those eras, the people who came to this country may have come for some the same reasons, but having once arrived, they had definably different objectives. Their objective was, quite simply, to become Americans. This did not mean they rejected their own heritage. But it did mean certain things, like learning the English language and assimilating themselves into the fabric of American life. It meant enjoying the benefits of citizenry, while also submitting to its demands.

I have no problem with weaving the rich tapestry of other cultures into our overall societal fabric. On the contrary, it is to be welcomed. But let’s not be in such a hurry to do so that the recognition and valuing of other cultures demands the eradication of our own.

Let’s not forget that the American experience is unique in world history.

And let’s not be afraid to say that the American experience has been an overwhelmingly positive one.