By Leah Dailey
Diversity is a strength; it is a common parlance in our time, but is it true? Diversity being our strength, as a nation, is most often referring to cultural diversity. We’ve all heard the arguments that without cultural diversity life would be boring, less vibrant, and certainly restaurants would lack the variety that we’ve all come to love and enjoy.
It got me thinking about this word “diversity”. It sounds a bit like divert, divide, divorce. Clearly these words, when applied to the phrase at hand would sound like double speak. Let’s try it. Divorce is our Strength. Division is our strength. Diversion is our Strength. I know what you may think I’m getting at here but let me clarify. Let us expand a little more into the concept of diversity- outside of cultural implications.
Diversity and Strength
Diversity of individual peoples is certainly a strength- there’s really no disagreement here. If the world were totally populated with carbon copies of myself it would be a hopeless disaster of a civilization. In this frightful dystopia, first of all, math would not exist, for I cannot math. Architecture would be laughable if it weren’t also so dangerous. No electricity or running water; I don’t know how these work. Not to mention the lack of procreation.
A diverse population is necessary to share the load required for prosperity. Each of us is unique and distinct from others in so many ways. With our personal strengths come our personal weaknesses. Think about it in the sense of communal living. Ideally there are specific tasks and projects that may be best led by those who can naturally excel. One who is physically strong can be most helpful doing manual labor. The person with a steady hand may be most useful as the commune barber. This is human diversity at its finest.
Let us think now about diversity of ideas- the big ones being religious, philosophical, political, and even cultural. If ‘diversity is our strength’ is true, then would more diversity equal more strength? I would argue no. Take for example two people from wildly different cultures who don’t speak the same language and who have opposite and opposing moral values. It may be impossible to bring these two people together in harmony.
Often times I think if I were in a plane crash, on a deserted island with the other survivors and we have to work together to survive, where would I start first to get to know these people? Well, I’d probably start with the women, I was born female, I can bond easily there. Any children survivors or elderly folk, I can certainly bond with as I have experience caring for these age groups and they would obviously need assistance. It would seem silly for me to find the person with the most differing characteristics from mine to approach to start organizing our team effort. An international flight with people from all over the globe, different cultures, different languages. How productive would it be for me to pass over all the English speaking, millennial, white women and go straight for the 65-year-old Pathan-Sunni-Imam to try and devise a plan for rescue or survival?
People seem to get along best when they have shared similarities. If you listen, you can hear it all the time. Someone says, “I grew up in Albuquerque,” and then another person chimes in with, “my cousin went to Albuquerque once.” They’re trying to make a connection- a reason to bond with each other over a shared experience.
Humans are a tribal species. Rarely can we find, now or in history, success of the individual in isolation. We need to live, work, and play with, and learn from, other people. The relationships we form with one another need to provide a mutual benefit, for success and prosperity.
What My Experiences Tell Me
I worked with a woman some time ago and I just didn’t like her, though we had a lot in common. We were both women, 25-30 years old, who grew up in south-east Michigan. We shared the same profession even. We got along fine at work, but she was quite negative, and liked to complain often. This, for me, can be a very annoying thing to endure. One time after a work seminar, she was sharing with us how she made some side cash. She was selling her soiled work-out clothing to horny men on Craigslist. I could feel my eyes widen as I thought to myself, “AND she’s a degenerate??” It was just another reason for me to dislike her.
Then one day I heard her on the phone say jokingly, “frig off Randy.” My heart swelled and skipped a beat. When she hung up the phone I said to her, in my best exaggerated Canadian accent, “I want you out my park.” It was at this moment we bonded. It turns out we were both fans of the critically-acclaimed, award-winning, Canadian television show Trailer Park Boys. I had spent many days binging on Trailer Park Boys episodes, lovingly quoting them and their silly antics back and forth with my boyfriend. When I found out that this person was also a fan, my view of her changed. Her negative attitude and complaining at work didn’t sting me so hard anymore. Her side business no longer seemed like dirty, nasty degeneracy. I now saw her as an entrepreneur taking advantage of the market’s demand all while keeping sick, filthy perverts from violating women in gym locker rooms. She was a hero actually.
Selling Freedom
Anyone who works in sales will tell you: make a connection; make a sale. When we connect ourselves to others, a bond forms. When a bond forms, trust and respect are produced. As Libertarians we are selling the idea of freedom. For our message to be heard and valued it is imperative to first make a connection with our audience.
I implore you to take this tactic with you as you spread the message of liberty to a seemingly ignorant population or when dealing with other libertarians. There may be a time for debate, but before that, connection with earned trust is important. Let us not dwell on the things that separate us but find commonality with each other to then expand on the principles that will free us from tyranny. Diversity has much value, but a common bond is our strength.
This article appears in the February 2024 Michigan Libertarian.
Archived Issues Are in the Historical Archives.
