Is Diversity Synergy or Reversal? A progressive's dilemma.

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"I didn't vote for Trump," my buddy Ted said as he pulled out a chair to join me at the cafe'. "But I can understand why people did." He ordered a medium latte. "They'll be disappointed, though."

"You bet," I responded. "Trump only cares about Trump--and those named Trump. 'I'm not a populist, but I played one on TV'."

Ted chuckled. Then, a sigh.

"What?" I prodded. "I'm your friend. We can talk privately, and no one except OpEd News readers will hear us."

"It's difficult." Another sigh. "I try to be a good person. I try to be progressive."

"But?"

"They've changed the rules. It's gone too far."

He must have seen my puzzled expression, so he continued, "Look, let's go back a bit. Affirmative action."

"Uh-oh." I quickly sipped my coffee.

"No, listen. Slavery was horrible and unforgivable. The idea of providing reparations for that crime was a very good one. I wish the reparations had gone to those who needed them most, poor blacks in urban areas rather than the suburbanized middle class, but, the effort was honorable. And, we had a debt to the Native Americans as well, so we were right to include American tribes in affirmative action programs.

"I won $250 at Pachonga last weekend. I'll treat for that latte," I smiled.

"I'm being serious. But, sure. Go ahead," he grinned. "But then it all went south. Literally."

I waved for him to keep talking.

"Over the next decades, the affirmative action pool got bigger and bigger. First, Mexican immigrants, documented and undocumented, who came to the United States voluntarily were added." He stressed the word 'voluntarily'. "Then other "Latinos", immigrants from Central and South America, from Cuba, and from the Caribbean. Even people from Spain, a fellow European country, got benefits from the "Hispanic" banner--while my cousins in Ireland had to wait at the end of the line." He snorted. "My office gave a scholarship to a 'Latino' from Argentina, whose grandparents had escaped Nazi Germany." He blew on his latte for a cool down. "Affirmative action and reparations were replaced by 'Diversity'. All of a sudden, it didn't matter if you'd been forced to come to the US or your lands had been taken. A Hispanic sounding last name? International immigrant? Step to the front of the line."

"Surely helping our newest immigrants doesn't mean we are hurting our own citizens," I countered. "You haven't done so badly yourself."

"Ask my grandfather and my father about who helped them make it in the US. And don't tell me they had the benefit of 'white privilege'. Working outdoors in farming and construction made them browner than many Native Americans and Hispanics."

"I can see you're very upset," I soothed. "Drink your drink. Anyway, I think one of the bigger problems all immigrants have today is that the ladder of upward mobility is a lot wobblier than it was decades ago. And a lot of rungs have been broken."

"Exactly. I don't want to sound like a racist, but the lifeboat is too crowded here nowadays. Sure, we can help those who are here already--I don't want to send Dreamer kids back to countries they don't know--but we've got to get control of immigration for the future, otherwise we'll all sink." He gulped down his latte. "But that's not all I'm upset about."

"Okay, hit me. Well, don't, that's not PC."

"That's what I mean. The culture wars."

"What, are you and Sean seeking a divorce?"

"No, of course not. We just had the best second honeymoon ever!" A blush. "No, I mean the next step of this globalization meme--we are the world."

"Okay, you've lost me."

"Let's just go back to affirmative action, or, excuse me, diversity. African-Americans, check. Native Americans, check. Hispanics? Um, why? But, okay, that train has left the station. But now, it's Pacific Islanders. Asians. And 'South Asians'." Was that a screech? "Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, for God's sake. Why should they get special benefits? We're not the British Empire. I think." Another sip. "And besides, if you want racial diversity, most South Asians are Caucasian! Like me." He slammed his cup on the table. "Why do I have to apologize for my 'Caucasian' privilege, and the fact that my ancestors, just like those for many in the Indian subcontinent, came from Europe." He leaned in. "Did you know that now Middle Easterners want their own underrepresented protected category? And they come from the Caucasus!"

I let out a breath. "I can see that identity politics has really gotten to you, Ted. But, I think you're overreacting. Just like your relatives--and mine--did, our new immigrants will adjust, assimilate, and prosper."

"Ha!" Ted almost knocked over his coffee. "Haven't you heard that the 'melting pot' is offensive and discriminatory--and non-PC? When my family came to the US, we, and our neighbors in Little Italy and the Lower East Side knew the score. We could keep our language and our customs at home, but we had to become American. We had to change our names, learn English, learn new customs and manners and behaviors. We never expected that the hosts who welcomed us to a country of opportunity would have to learn, tolerate, respect, and adopt our customs and language. I don't expect you to learn Gaelic."

"I'm glad of that," I admitted, "I can only say Camry, Wales, because of the car."

"Well, you get my point. What's wrong with controlled immigration, where those documented enter the United States and have a few years to learn the language and the customs and pass a citizenship test--in English? That you don't do barbaric acts like female circumcision, rape, and honor killings."

"I do have this fear that at some point I'll be forced to wear a hijab. And I'm an atheist. With great hair."

"You know, people talk about hating Muslims, but Muslims have been living in the US for many, many years. It's only now that they've become a focal point for racism and hatred. You know why? Because they don't want to assimilate. They want us, the West, to change our culture to become theirs. And I, for one, do not want to get stoned to death for love."

"Our misguided policies in the Middle East, as well as our support for the dissemination of a very fundamentalist sect of Islam have certainly contributed to the scapegoating."

"Take off the hijab, shave your beard, wear Ralph Lauren, and do your worshipping privately, that's what I say. No one will bother you. Haven't been to Mass since my teens." Ted finished his coffee. "You know, what makes me saddest is that we're losing Western Civilization. My ancestors can be traced back to the Minoan Civilization in Crete. Crete is an island of Greece, and Ancient Greece was the cradle of democracy. And a great place to be gay."

"I know. I took History, too."

"But they don't teach 'the classics' much anymore. That's not PC. And, I'm pissed. Western Civilization, that's my culture. And I like it. Sure, Bob and I just got back from China and Japan and it was fascinating to see their culture and learn some of their history. But, I'm glad I'm back home. And I don't want my home, the US and Europe, to become the Middle East, El Salvador, or India. And that's why some people voted for Trump." He frowned. "Whoa, what's with you?

"Darnit," I put down my cell phone. "I didn't get the job."

"Oh, I'm so sorry." Ted patted my hand. "I thought you'd be perfect. What did they say?"

"We liked you a lot," I read, "but we have lots of Latina clients, and we need someone who speaks Spanish." I pursed my lips. "I speak 4 languages other than my native English, but my Spanish sucks. Guess I have to go back to school so I can be a top candidate in the Estados Unidos."

"Dual major, Girl, Spanish and Arabic. And, since your family's from Europe, get to the end of the line. Isn't America great?"

Authors Bio:

Jill Jackson is a practitioner of kindness and common sense. Unlike her cat, she prefers to think out of the box.