Diversity and Tolerance in America

America is a country all about individuality. We have lots of freedoms that allow us to be ourselves. Our founding fathers wanted us to have these freedoms in order to lead better lives. These laws allow the diversity that we have in this nation. We’re allowed to practice any religion and live how we want. These laws have made our country how it is today, and diversity is a cornerstone. This country was built with diversity in mind, yet it’s a debatable topic. I believe that diversity makes our country better and helps stop ignorance and stereotypes.

Many people view diversity as a strong point of our nation. They see it as our country having many perspectives. But according to some, diversity may actually be our weakness. In my research, I found a few articles debating diversity and its downfalls. In the article "Is Diversity Really Our Strength?" by David French, which brings up several good points. French first brings up something Tucker Carlson, a conservative commentator, asked and questioned about diversity. Many viewers saw this as hateful, but it opened up an interesting conversation. French elaborates on Carlson's perspective, saying that diverse perspectives and values can actually create conflict among people. He also brings up how in something like the military, many diverse people come together for one cause, but there's a sense of uniformity, which doesn't express this diversity. I understand his points, but I think that diversity is a fortification of our in our community, and even our country and can create appropriate behavior, such as tolerance and open-mindedness. Another article, called "Is Diversity a Strength, and Should Strength Be a Core Value?" by Jonah Goldberg, also highlights some valid points. In this article, Goldberg brings up something that liberal sociologist, Robert Putnam said: that increased diversity "corrodes" civil society by "eroding" shared values. The points that the authors of these articles make are valid and make sense. But there are also positive aspects about diversity as well.

I believe that diversity creates tolerance by exposing people to other cultures and putting an end to ignorance. On the same hand, diversity also breeds equality, which has a foundation of tolerance. Equality is a building block of our great nation, a fundamental ideal that our nation is based on, created by many people who see people, no matter their religion or skin color, as equal. An essay about the LGBT community by Milliy D., highlights how being around diverse peoples can create tolerance. In her essay, she cites an article by Anna Brown about LGBT Americans. “Americans are becoming more accepting in their views of LGBT people and homosexuality in general, and the number of people identifying as LGBT has grown in recent years.” This relationship shows correlation. These two factors, tolerance and equality, are an important part of society - specifically ours - and they create a less hateful environment for everyone. Without diversity, these two factors that make up our great nation would be hard to achieve. Education about other cultures creates a spark of acknowledgement and cognizance.

Diversity is still debatable. It’s still controversial, yet to many people, the answer is obvious: diversity is good and should be celebrated. While others may have valid arguments for why diversity is bad, or “corroding” society, this may come out of a place of ignorance. America isn’t a place for hate, nor is anywhere else. No matter what your opinion is, we should always be tolerant of others’ beliefs and opinions, and what makes them diverse.