John Leo
Let the Segregation Commence
Separatist graduations proliferate at UCLA.
John writes:
"But the core reason for separatist graduations is the obvious one: on campus, assimilation is a hostile force, the domestic version of American imperialism."
Here is our response to his outrageous statements. The whole article made us mad.
Are these your true feelings, John?
Graduation is not about every separatist group, nor about "community", but rather about the celebration of individual achievement and of the diversity of the various colleges attended.
What will the graduates of the separate "community" groups do when they face the real world of work and have to work with people outside of their own "clique" or "group"? Will they face trauma? We need to be able to work with people we disagree with, and, at times, with people we hate to get a job done. Too Bad! Get the job done anyways if you want to keep a paycheck.
The reason people can gather and practice their own community values, which might be diametrically opposed to my religious and cultural world views, is because, in a certain sense, there is American hegemony. These cultural values forced upon us by law such as tolerance, freedom of speech, and non violent protest are all the invention of the very America that you oppose.
Assimilation is not a bad thing. Here in this country, where we are have certain core values and the freedom to retain our cultural identity within that framework, a common language, common currency, open borders, free trade, a strong national defense, the rule of law and endless opportunity, there are many who are dissatisfied with the abundant freedoms we have here and idealistically dream of a socialist utopia - including many students at UCLA.
The attendees of these separatist graduations would be better off under a self-imposed pseudo caste system where "everyone knows their place". This marginalization is already occurring under the censorship of political correctness. Cultural diversity is a shallow disguise for maintaining prideful prejudice and bigotry within your own ethnic group. Americans are all equal under the law and require no caste system. Those who are not happy to be part of the magnanimous greatness of this country should go back home and those who claim American citizenship should just leave and find some country where they can be told what to do with their lives.
thank for the link to the article. that said, i doubt you got the gist of what John was saying. I am an avid fan of his old column in US News.
ReplyDeletethese separatist, group-identity thinking graduations are what he calls at the end "preposterous."
Martin Luther King had a dream, and ppl the likes of Al Sharpton are killing it.