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In any social arrangement - especially in a nation as large
and diverse as the United States - the many differences
among people are all too obvious. We have different capacities
and resources, and we live with vastly different circumstances
and outcomes. Within such splendid diversity, where shall
we find a basis for unity? And what can equality
possibly mean?
Racism
has a long and well-known history in the United States, and
there have been many struggles to overcome its legacy. Yet many
of the attempts to eliminate racism have been coercive, producing
a powerful conflict between equality and liberty.
Ethnocentrism
-- judging others as inferior because of their culture, race,
or religious background - presents many of the same kind of
problems as racism. A nation of immigrants, such as the U.S.,
is particularly challenged to accommodate a wide variety
of ethnic and cultural backgrounds, while seeking some common
foundation for a sense of unity.
Sexism
-- the view that a person's sex overwhelmingly determines his
or her social status - joins racism and ethnocentrism as prototypes
for many of our most serious moral problems.
Among
the more recent problems associated with diversity are affirmative
action and multiculturalism. These are not only political
issues; they also are philosophical disputes that touch
our understanding of ourselves as a nation.
The
United States is simultaneously committed to liberty, justice,
and equality. But there is a clear and profound trade-off
between liberty and equality. What is the proper balance
between these conflicting ideals? And what processes and
institutions help us manage the trade-off? It's clear that
a healthy society cannot diminish or suppress the diversity
(or difference) that is the source of so many strengths. Yet
a healthy nation also must be committed to some common vision,
which binds together what otherwise can be a collection of angry
and alienated factions. Our task is to find unity in diversity
-- e pluribus unum -- a motto that means "out of many,
one."
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