Former Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, known for his far-right views, said Woke-ism, multiculturalism, all the -isms — they’re not who America is. They distort our glorious founding and what this country is all about. In a Tuesday morning tweet, he contended that efforts to recognize the diversity of the U.S. — a nation of many cultures — are un-American and authoritarian.
I disagree with Mr. Pompeo’s patchwork of “isms” and his misaligned association of multiculturalism with the prejudicial acts of racism. Might there be underlying causes of racism that hide people’s imprudent actions? Is racism liken to multiculturalism? Is diversity among cultures un-American?
I often substitute cultural disparity “to acts of racism” to logically understand why people’s acts in social settings, professions, sports activities, etc., lead to conflicts. I researched the meaning of multiculturalism and found that in the political philosophy of multiculturalism, ideas are focused on the ways in which societies are either believed to or should, respond to cultural and Christian differences. Racism could be recognized as a social construct which means that, although the concepts of race and racism are based on observable biological characteristics, any conclusions drawn about race on the basis of those observations are heavily influenced by cultural ideologies.
Cultural disparity has a face and a name in a difference in opinions, behaviors, and political ideologies and not just in the color of one’s skin. Cultural ideologies could conceivably become a pathway in which problems are unearthed and objectively discussed to find constructive resolutions. Multiculturalism is an “ism” and an ideology for collaboration, diversity, and to attain the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of belonging.
Bob Proby
Lima
