Multiculturalism begets misunderstanding, challenges

Multiculturalism begets misunderstanding, challenges

By John Phillips

YOGYAKARTA (JP): Multiculturalism in the United States and in
other multicultural societies is touted as a social, political
and economic virtue that strengthens and vitalizes society.
Commendation about multiculturalism are so strong that one is led
to believe that multicultural societies are somehow better than
societies which are not.

In fact, multiculturalism in a society is a condition which
makes cooperative, peaceful society more difficult to obtain.
Furthermore, if multicultural America is any example of what
happens in a society that is fragmented by so many cultures, then
multiculturalism can be said to be a burden on most societies who
must work extra hard to devise means of ensuring the cohesiveness
of the social order.

In America, the most significant public expression of
multicultural disharmony is the hyphenated American, such as
African-Americans, Mexican-Americans, Greek-Americans and so
forth. The point of the hyphenation trend was for the society to
recognize cultural differences and learn to tolerate and accept
them.

However, as has been pointed out in a recent speech by Milton
Bennett, neither tolerance nor acceptance is sufficient to make
multiculturalism work in a society. It takes respect for
differences and a degree of appreciation for other ways of doing
things which most people find difficult to do.

When we acquire our culture, we are not taught that this is
but one way of looking at the world and acting within it. Instead
we are taught that this is the "right or natural" way of the
world. Our view of the world is reinforced by most of our
experiences. We are surrounded by people for most of our lives
who are exactly like we are.

Most of us never leave the safety and security of our "world"
to become international citizens or even intercultural citizens
in our own countries. We usually associate only with people who
we feel comfortable with because we know what to expect from
them, how they are thinking, and how they will act. Most of the
time this is not particularly racist or segregationist; rather it
is a reflection of our lack of experience, our cultural bias, and
our fear of the unknown. Basically, most of us are too insecure
in our own identities to trust ourselves to try on the identities
of others.

In multicultural societies, the opportunity to experience the
"other" are more abundant, but the security of our primary
identity is more threatened. We find people in our own country,
our cities, and even in our neighborhoods who do not think, act
or speak as we do. They do not confirm our identity but challenge
it. We find ourselves having to defend what we assumed was right.

Often when we experience the "other" it is through the strong
lenses of our own preconceptions and bias. Like the city boy who
cannot tell the difference between a cow and a bull, we are blind
to the nuances of the other culture.

So, our first tendency is to deny or minimize differences. We
do not recognize differences, so they do not exist. Everyone is
assumed to be more or less the same since we are all God's
children. But his view of the world becomes dysfunctional when we
assign our cultural specific meaning to an action that may have
no meaning in another culture. Thus using the left hand in
Indonesian culture is impolite, but it has no meaning in American
culture.

Different values within a multicultural setting are even
harder to understand. In America, reactions to both the Rodney
King and O.J. Simpson trial verdicts are prime examples of when
culture values clash in a society. But instead of arguing about
what kind of food tastes better, the different cultures were
arguing about extremely emotional issues of great importance
concerning concepts of justice, racism, and class consciousness.
More than any other recent events these trials have polarized
society and seriously shaken the multicultural ideal.

One reaction to the multicultural muddle in the U.S. has been
for some to become defensive about their own culture and hostile
towards others. There has been a rise in so-called cross-cultural
hate crimes that can no longer be simply ascribed to difficult
economic conditions. People are genuinely afraid of one another
and openly prejudiced towards those who are different.

One ugly but minor incident recently occurred when a Mexican
crowd in the U.S. shouted obscenities during the U.S. national
anthem, threw beer bottles, and threatened Anglo-Americans.

This incident was in part a reaction to growing anti-Mexican
sentiment in the U.S. fostered by social class and ethnic
differences, perpetuated by the inability of the two cultures to
blend. But these problems with multiculturalism are neither new
to the U.S. nor unknown to other multicultural societies.
Multiculturalism within a society then is a major dilemma since
it makes living together more difficult, but it also provides us
the opportunity to adapt to the multicultural demands of a global
village.

The writer is a visiting lecturer at Sanata Dharma University,
Yogyakarta.