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What if Diversity isn't America's Strength? (LA Times OpEd)

Sen. Lindsey Graham says he scolded the president for saying...
flatulent sex offender property
  01/16/18
(((Goldberg)))
Contagious apoplectic gaping
  01/16/18
...
Fragrant personal credit line location
  01/16/18
...
Saffron multi-colored queen of the night address
  01/16/18
pretty sure autoadmit has been ahead of the times on this
Clear mind-boggling shrine brethren
  01/16/18
his comment about "strength" is a good one. It's a...
Peach Aphrodisiac Mother Lodge
  01/16/18
Yes. Like "good" or "bad", "strengt...
Lavender Twisted Associate Theater
  01/16/18
It's actually a retarded observation. When people say "...
Yapping Avocado Home
  01/16/18
Started off promising and then TWIST he revealed his (((true...
indecent red dilemma
  01/16/18
LMAO cr.
180 milky round eye genital piercing
  01/16/18
...
glittery mexican
  01/16/18
he probably needed to add that to get this published. ove...
flatulent sex offender property
  01/16/18
This. Without that he would end up on some watchlist.
razzle coiffed menage
  01/18/18
...
duck-like lay
  01/16/18
yeah, it reads like two separate opeds. and i'm not really s...
abnormal public bath
  01/16/18
...
Yapping Avocado Home
  01/16/18
Goldberg. Every. Damn. Time.
galvanic brunch
  01/16/18
...
Frisky Ivory Pocket Flask
  01/18/18
Can’t believe the LA Times would print this
Sickened excitant trust fund orchestra pit
  01/16/18
"I once heard Jesse Jackson explain that racial integra...
Bonkers kink-friendly forum
  01/16/18
20% Hispanic!!!!!!!
Clear mind-boggling shrine brethren
  01/16/18
I mean, he's right. Allowing all races to participate in ...
flatulent sex offender property
  01/16/18
...
Mint abode private investor
  01/16/18
...
Saffron multi-colored queen of the night address
  01/16/18
...
razzle coiffed menage
  01/16/18
Yeah, but "allowing all races to participate" != d...
Bonkers kink-friendly forum
  01/16/18
Or if he said we should just allow the best in all fields, r...
galvanic brunch
  01/16/18
...
primrose stage multi-billionaire
  01/18/18
"Baby, you are just assuming strength is its own reward...
glittery mexican
  01/16/18
The Doughy Pantload, freedom lover that he is, has been payi...
Adventurous gaming laptop range
  01/16/18
Hot take
Zombie-like aqua trailer park
  01/16/18
...
duck-like lay
  01/16/18
This is really good. the question is being asked "Is D...
black national nowag
  01/16/18
...
duck-like lay
  01/16/18
oh I understand. but the question being asked in the first ...
black national nowag
  01/16/18
...
duck-like lay
  01/16/18
sure it is. sure. Trannies. always w the trannies. you b...
black national nowag
  01/16/18
Well, not exactly. The original lie is "nah, you're no...
razzle coiffed menage
  01/16/18
...
black national nowag
  01/16/18
(guy who committed to one vag for life at age 23 or whatever...
Adventurous gaming laptop range
  01/16/18
True, and no regrets.
razzle coiffed menage
  01/16/18
I approve of this paper even with the twist. The thing is t...
razzle coiffed menage
  01/16/18
"In any event, I wouldn't be surprised if shitlibs skew...
black national nowag
  01/16/18
how is this even a question that needs to be belabored by an...
Sick Supple School Cafeteria Sweet Tailpipe
  01/18/18
"Why isn't the Emperor wearing any clothes??"
flatulent sex offender property
  01/18/18
Yet go ahead and say what you just said in any public conver...
razzle coiffed menage
  01/18/18
I would have no problem saying it if someone asked me about ...
flatulent sex offender property
  01/18/18
...
duck-like lay
  01/18/18
Weirdly schizophrenic article, but this is the best part: ...
puce heaven regret
  01/18/18


Poast new message in this thread



Reply Favorite

Date: January 16th, 2018 10:37 AM
Author: flatulent sex offender property

Sen. Lindsey Graham says he scolded the president for saying something scatological about certain countries and their immigrants. “Diversity has always been our strength,” he allegedly said. By my count, this makes Graham the bazillionth person to proclaim some variant of “diversity is strength.”

Is it true? I think the only close to right answer is, “it depends.” Specifically, it depends on what — often clichéd — analogy you have in mind. Diverse stock portfolios are more resilient. Diverse diets are healthier. But that doesn’t mean picking bad stocks will make you richer or that eating spoiled foods is good for you.

I once heard Jesse Jackson explain that racial integration of the NBA made it stronger and better. He was right. But would gender integration of the NBA have the same effect? Would diversifying professional basketball by height? Probably not.

All of these analogies can take you only so far. Thomas Sowell once said, “The next time some academics tell you how important diversity is, ask how many Republicans there are in their sociology department.”

There’s a growing body of evidence that even if diversity— the kind that results from immigration — once made America stronger, it may not be doing so anymore. Robert Putnam, a liberal sociologist at Harvard, found that increased diversity corrodes civil society by eroding shared values, customs and institutions. People tend to “hunker down” and retreat from civil society, at least in the short and medium term.

I think the real culprit here isn’t immigration or diversity in general, but the rising stigma against assimilation. Particularly on college campuses, but also in large swaths of mainstream journalism and in the louder corners of the fever swamp right, the idea that people of all backgrounds should embrace a single conception of “Americanism” is increasingly taboo.

Anyone of any race or national origin can be an American, but it requires effort and desire from both the individual and the larger society. There’s a shortage of both these days.

But while traditional notions of assimilation are increasingly heretical, there is a kind of anti-assimilation assimilation movement afoot. It insists that we must “celebrate our differences” and make them the essence of our identity. The University of California officially considers terms like “melting pot” offensive and “triggering.” But no one would call the UC system a hot bed of free and independent thought.

What is expected is assimilation into an ideological worldview that simply asserts without proof that one kind of diversity makes us stronger.

So far all of this should be familiar to anyone who has followed the debates over immigration and assimilation. Liberals, broadly speaking, assert diversity makes us stronger. Conservatives, broadly speaking, respond with skepticism or emphasize a different kind of diversity.

What gets less attention is the premise that “strength” is an indisputably overriding priority or ideal.

Strength has always struck me as a strange ideal for a democracy. Strength, like other fetishized ideals such as “unity,” is wholly amoral. Strength to do what?

President Trump constantly extols strength, at home and abroad. He praised the Chinese government for showing strength at Tiananmen. He admires Vladimir Putin’s strong leadership. On the campaign trail, he upended the traditional conservative critique of big government by decrying the “weakness” of America’s political leaders and institutions.

Strength, it seems to me, is a top priority of every nationalist creed. It fits more uncomfortably within American notions of patriotism.

If you read the Federalist Papers, you’ll learn that among the top priorities of the founders was to ensure that the government, particularly any branch of government, not be too powerful. The Bill of Rights is all about constraining the power of government. The Constitution never once mentions the words “strength” or “strong.” Neither does the Declaration of Independence. But both documents talk a great deal about freedom and liberty.

I don’t want America to be weaker, depending on how you define weakness. But maybe the overriding problem with the debate, on both sides, is the assumption that strength is its own reward.

jgoldberg@latimescolumnists.com

http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-goldberg-diversity-strength-20180115-story.html

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3861304&forum_id=2#35167233)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 16th, 2018 10:39 AM
Author: Contagious apoplectic gaping

(((Goldberg)))

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3861304&forum_id=2#35167245)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 16th, 2018 10:40 AM
Author: Fragrant personal credit line location



(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3861304&forum_id=2#35167257)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 16th, 2018 10:40 AM
Author: Saffron multi-colored queen of the night address



(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3861304&forum_id=2#35167262)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 16th, 2018 10:42 AM
Author: Clear mind-boggling shrine brethren

pretty sure autoadmit has been ahead of the times on this

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3861304&forum_id=2#35167277)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 16th, 2018 10:43 AM
Author: Peach Aphrodisiac Mother Lodge

his comment about "strength" is a good one. It's a semantically empty phrase.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3861304&forum_id=2#35167290)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 16th, 2018 11:03 AM
Author: Lavender Twisted Associate Theater

Yes. Like "good" or "bad", "strength" is meaningless without a context and a goal.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3861304&forum_id=2#35167441)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 16th, 2018 11:48 AM
Author: Yapping Avocado Home

It's actually a retarded observation. When people say "Diversity is our strength," what they mean is "diversity makes us better off" and that claim is the one that deserves scrutiny.

Also, notices how he assigns blame to the right for not wanting to assimilate immigrants any more without a single example or piece of evidence. I guess it's Republicans torpedoing English-only curriculums?

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3861304&forum_id=2#35167709)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 16th, 2018 10:47 AM
Author: indecent red dilemma

Started off promising and then TWIST he revealed his (((true intentions))). It's not diversity I have a problem with, it's strength! Hehe

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3861304&forum_id=2#35167329)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 16th, 2018 10:56 AM
Author: 180 milky round eye genital piercing

LMAO cr.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3861304&forum_id=2#35167402)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 16th, 2018 10:59 AM
Author: glittery mexican



(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3861304&forum_id=2#35167424)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 16th, 2018 10:56 AM
Author: flatulent sex offender property

he probably needed to add that to get this published.

overall it's a decent piece

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3861304&forum_id=2#35167406)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 18th, 2018 1:59 PM
Author: razzle coiffed menage

This. Without that he would end up on some watchlist.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3861304&forum_id=2#35184032)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 16th, 2018 11:06 AM
Author: duck-like lay



(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3861304&forum_id=2#35167473)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 16th, 2018 11:44 AM
Author: abnormal public bath

yeah, it reads like two separate opeds. and i'm not really sure what the takeaway is; what's his position or solution.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3861304&forum_id=2#35167683)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 16th, 2018 11:50 AM
Author: Yapping Avocado Home



(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3861304&forum_id=2#35167717)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 16th, 2018 9:25 PM
Author: galvanic brunch

Goldberg.

Every. Damn. Time.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3861304&forum_id=2#35171992)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 18th, 2018 2:09 PM
Author: Frisky Ivory Pocket Flask



(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3861304&forum_id=2#35184108)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 16th, 2018 10:55 AM
Author: Sickened excitant trust fund orchestra pit

Can’t believe the LA Times would print this

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3861304&forum_id=2#35167388)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 16th, 2018 10:58 AM
Author: Bonkers kink-friendly forum

"I once heard Jesse Jackson explain that racial integration of the NBA made it stronger and better. He was right. "

Oh what "diversity" in the NBA.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3861304&forum_id=2#35167420)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 16th, 2018 11:04 AM
Author: Clear mind-boggling shrine brethren

20% Hispanic!!!!!!!

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3861304&forum_id=2#35167449)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 16th, 2018 11:06 AM
Author: flatulent sex offender property

I mean, he's right.

Allowing all races to participate in the NBA has certainly made the NBA better since blacks are great at those types of athletic skills. Equality of opportunity.

What wouldn't make it better is saying, hey, we need the NBA to be 25% hispanic and asian. Equality of outcome.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3861304&forum_id=2#35167475)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 16th, 2018 11:07 AM
Author: Mint abode private investor



(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3861304&forum_id=2#35167480)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 16th, 2018 11:14 AM
Author: Saffron multi-colored queen of the night address



(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3861304&forum_id=2#35167526)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 16th, 2018 11:25 AM
Author: razzle coiffed menage



(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3861304&forum_id=2#35167587)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 16th, 2018 11:41 AM
Author: Bonkers kink-friendly forum

Yeah, but "allowing all races to participate" != diversity, in fact, often quite the opposite.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3861304&forum_id=2#35167671)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 16th, 2018 9:26 PM
Author: galvanic brunch

Or if he said we should just allow the best in all fields, regardless of race or gender.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3861304&forum_id=2#35172007)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 18th, 2018 2:10 PM
Author: primrose stage multi-billionaire



(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3861304&forum_id=2#35184113)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 16th, 2018 11:03 AM
Author: glittery mexican

"Baby, you are just assuming strength is its own reward, and there is no..."

"Jonah, I am leaving. Please stop crying. We were better as friends"

*Chad revs the 8 cylinder in the driveway*



(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3861304&forum_id=2#35167448)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 16th, 2018 11:30 AM
Author: Adventurous gaming laptop range

The Doughy Pantload, freedom lover that he is, has been paying for sex for decades.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3861304&forum_id=2#35167614)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 16th, 2018 11:05 AM
Author: Zombie-like aqua trailer park

Hot take

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3861304&forum_id=2#35167460)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 16th, 2018 11:08 AM
Author: duck-like lay



(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3861304&forum_id=2#35167486)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 16th, 2018 11:15 AM
Author: black national nowag

This is really good. the question is being asked "Is DIVERSITY really a good thing, all the time?"

In a regular paper.

You guys live in your own little bubble. what you don't know is that simply the fact that this question is being asked among anyone in public forums except the alt-right is a significant leap forward for the free exchange of ideas.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3861304&forum_id=2#35167533)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 16th, 2018 11:17 AM
Author: duck-like lay



(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3861304&forum_id=2#35167539)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 16th, 2018 11:23 AM
Author: black national nowag

oh I understand. but the question being asked in the first part is important. And almost never asked. Even ASKING the question in the way the op-ed does is credited. You cant get everything you want in one go, friend.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3861304&forum_id=2#35167571)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 16th, 2018 11:34 AM
Author: duck-like lay



(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3861304&forum_id=2#35167634)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 16th, 2018 11:35 AM
Author: black national nowag

sure it is. sure. Trannies. always w the trannies. you bet, fella.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3861304&forum_id=2#35167638)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 16th, 2018 11:23 AM
Author: razzle coiffed menage

Well, not exactly. The original lie is "nah, you're not fat." The logic of the paper would shift it to "sure you're fat, but is that really bad?" It is a) more honest, and b) opens the door to saying "yeah, you should probably lose some fucking weight."

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3861304&forum_id=2#35167573)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 16th, 2018 11:24 AM
Author: black national nowag



(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3861304&forum_id=2#35167583)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 16th, 2018 11:32 AM
Author: Adventurous gaming laptop range

(guy who committed to one vag for life at age 23 or whatever)

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3861304&forum_id=2#35167622)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 16th, 2018 11:36 AM
Author: razzle coiffed menage

True, and no regrets.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3861304&forum_id=2#35167643)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 16th, 2018 11:21 AM
Author: razzle coiffed menage

I approve of this paper even with the twist. The thing is that most people absolutely agree that strength is a good thing for a country. Given that, I don't see the problem with the national conversation shifting to "diversity isn't our strength, but is strength really good?"

By the way, the constitution/declaration of independence/etc. doesn't talk about national strength just as it doesn't talk about wealth or being low crime or social cohesion. Mostly because no one would consider that those aren't goals.

In any event, I wouldn't be surprised if shitlibs skewer the author for even this.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3861304&forum_id=2#35167559)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 16th, 2018 11:24 AM
Author: black national nowag

"In any event, I wouldn't be surprised if shitlibs skewer the author for even this."

Yes.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3861304&forum_id=2#35167578)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 18th, 2018 2:13 PM
Author: Sick Supple School Cafeteria Sweet Tailpipe

how is this even a question that needs to be belabored by anyone with an IQ over 90?

jesus fucking christ, are you kidding me? this is the level of discourse now?

MAYBE, GUISE...JUST MAYBE, LIKE, DIVERSITY -- HEAR ME OUT -- 'DIVERSITY IS OUR STRENGTH' IS TOO SIMPLISTIC TO WORK AS A BLANKET FUCKING STATEMENT! I DUNNO! MAYBE I AM CRAZY?

saying "diversity is our strength" is like in Idiocracy when people kept repeating "BUT GATORADE HAS ELECROLYTES THAT PLANTS CRAVE". it's just a nonsense incantation.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3861304&forum_id=2#35184129)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 18th, 2018 2:25 PM
Author: flatulent sex offender property

"Why isn't the Emperor wearing any clothes??"

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3861304&forum_id=2#35184220)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 18th, 2018 3:07 PM
Author: razzle coiffed menage

Yet go ahead and say what you just said in any public conversation and see what happens...

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3861304&forum_id=2#35184473)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 18th, 2018 3:09 PM
Author: flatulent sex offender property

I would have no problem saying it if someone asked me about it. I never personally bring up politics though so I wouldn't volunteer it.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3861304&forum_id=2#35184480)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 18th, 2018 3:11 PM
Author: duck-like lay



(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3861304&forum_id=2#35184491)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 18th, 2018 3:16 PM
Author: puce heaven regret

Weirdly schizophrenic article, but this is the best part:

"I think the real culprit here isn’t immigration or diversity in general, but the rising stigma against assimilation. Particularly on college campuses, but also in large swaths of mainstream journalism and in the louder corners of the fever swamp right, the idea that people of all backgrounds should embrace a single conception of “Americanism” is increasingly taboo.

Anyone of any race or national origin can be an American, but it requires effort and desire from both the individual and the larger society."

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3861304&forum_id=2#35184513)