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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...
trip idea he suggested
  01/16/18
(((Goldberg)))
magical school
  01/16/18
...
Lilac Round Eye
  01/16/18
...
avocado affirmative action
  01/16/18
pretty sure autoadmit has been ahead of the times on this
Crimson kitty
  01/16/18
his comment about "strength" is a good one. It's a...
Erotic Blathering Electric Furnace Hall
  01/16/18
Yes. Like "good" or "bad", "strengt...
apoplectic bronze people who are hurt nibblets
  01/16/18
It's actually a retarded observation. When people say "...
heady jade double fault scourge upon the earth
  01/16/18
Started off promising and then TWIST he revealed his (((true...
chestnut cerebral boltzmann jew
  01/16/18
LMAO cr.
Motley low-t boistinker
  01/16/18
...
rough-skinned angry immigrant coffee pot
  01/16/18
he probably needed to add that to get this published. ove...
trip idea he suggested
  01/16/18
This. Without that he would end up on some watchlist.
flirting native roommate
  01/18/18
...
drab appetizing feces
  01/16/18
yeah, it reads like two separate opeds. and i'm not really s...
insecure aquamarine idiot
  01/16/18
...
heady jade double fault scourge upon the earth
  01/16/18
Goldberg. Every. Damn. Time.
deep boyish clown
  01/16/18
...
Glassy Dragon Elastic Band
  01/18/18
Can’t believe the LA Times would print this
cerise misunderstood cumskin
  01/16/18
"I once heard Jesse Jackson explain that racial integra...
Fragrant infuriating stage cuckoldry
  01/16/18
20% Hispanic!!!!!!!
Crimson kitty
  01/16/18
I mean, he's right. Allowing all races to participate in ...
trip idea he suggested
  01/16/18
...
disturbing coral base
  01/16/18
...
avocado affirmative action
  01/16/18
...
flirting native roommate
  01/16/18
Yeah, but "allowing all races to participate" != d...
Fragrant infuriating stage cuckoldry
  01/16/18
Or if he said we should just allow the best in all fields, r...
deep boyish clown
  01/16/18
...
Domesticated cocky hunting ground
  01/18/18
"Baby, you are just assuming strength is its own reward...
rough-skinned angry immigrant coffee pot
  01/16/18
The Doughy Pantload, freedom lover that he is, has been payi...
irradiated national
  01/16/18
Hot take
bat shit crazy piazza
  01/16/18
...
drab appetizing feces
  01/16/18
This is really good. the question is being asked "Is D...
marvelous karate
  01/16/18
...
drab appetizing feces
  01/16/18
oh I understand. but the question being asked in the first ...
marvelous karate
  01/16/18
...
drab appetizing feces
  01/16/18
sure it is. sure. Trannies. always w the trannies. you b...
marvelous karate
  01/16/18
Well, not exactly. The original lie is "nah, you're no...
flirting native roommate
  01/16/18
...
marvelous karate
  01/16/18
(guy who committed to one vag for life at age 23 or whatever...
irradiated national
  01/16/18
True, and no regrets.
flirting native roommate
  01/16/18
I approve of this paper even with the twist. The thing is t...
flirting native roommate
  01/16/18
"In any event, I wouldn't be surprised if shitlibs skew...
marvelous karate
  01/16/18
how is this even a question that needs to be belabored by an...
Exciting seedy digit ratio
  01/18/18
"Why isn't the Emperor wearing any clothes??"
trip idea he suggested
  01/18/18
Yet go ahead and say what you just said in any public conver...
flirting native roommate
  01/18/18
I would have no problem saying it if someone asked me about ...
trip idea he suggested
  01/18/18
...
drab appetizing feces
  01/18/18
Weirdly schizophrenic article, but this is the best part: ...
soul-stirring sex offender point
  01/18/18


Poast new message in this thread



Reply Favorite

Date: January 16th, 2018 10:37 AM
Author: trip idea he suggested

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: magical school

(((Goldberg)))

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



Reply Favorite

Date: January 16th, 2018 10:40 AM
Author: Lilac Round Eye



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



Reply Favorite

Date: January 16th, 2018 10:40 AM
Author: avocado affirmative action



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



Reply Favorite

Date: January 16th, 2018 10:42 AM
Author: Crimson kitty

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: Erotic Blathering Electric Furnace Hall

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: apoplectic bronze people who are hurt nibblets

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: heady jade double fault scourge upon the earth

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: chestnut cerebral boltzmann jew

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: Motley low-t boistinker

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: rough-skinned angry immigrant coffee pot



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



Reply Favorite

Date: January 16th, 2018 10:56 AM
Author: trip idea he suggested

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: flirting native roommate

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: drab appetizing feces



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



Reply Favorite

Date: January 16th, 2018 11:44 AM
Author: insecure aquamarine idiot

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: heady jade double fault scourge upon the earth



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



Reply Favorite

Date: January 16th, 2018 9:25 PM
Author: deep boyish clown

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: Glassy Dragon Elastic Band



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



Reply Favorite

Date: January 16th, 2018 10:55 AM
Author: cerise misunderstood cumskin

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: Fragrant infuriating stage cuckoldry

"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: Crimson kitty

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: trip idea he suggested

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: disturbing coral base



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



Reply Favorite

Date: January 16th, 2018 11:14 AM
Author: avocado affirmative action



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



Reply Favorite

Date: January 16th, 2018 11:25 AM
Author: flirting native roommate



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



Reply Favorite

Date: January 16th, 2018 11:41 AM
Author: Fragrant infuriating stage cuckoldry

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: deep boyish clown

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: Domesticated cocky hunting ground



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



Reply Favorite

Date: January 16th, 2018 11:03 AM
Author: rough-skinned angry immigrant coffee pot

"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: irradiated national

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: bat shit crazy piazza

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: drab appetizing feces



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



Reply Favorite

Date: January 16th, 2018 11:15 AM
Author: marvelous karate

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: drab appetizing feces



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



Reply Favorite

Date: January 16th, 2018 11:23 AM
Author: marvelous karate

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: drab appetizing feces



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



Reply Favorite

Date: January 16th, 2018 11:35 AM
Author: marvelous karate

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: flirting native roommate

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: marvelous karate



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



Reply Favorite

Date: January 16th, 2018 11:32 AM
Author: irradiated national

(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: flirting native roommate

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: flirting native roommate

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: marvelous karate

"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: Exciting seedy digit ratio

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: trip idea he suggested

"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: flirting native roommate

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: trip idea he suggested

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: drab appetizing feces



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



Reply Favorite

Date: January 18th, 2018 3:16 PM
Author: soul-stirring sex offender point

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)