REFLECTIONS ON MULTICULTURALISM
If there can be one certainty in this whole discourse, it is that the age of the Nation as a perfectly homogeneous community, if it ever existed, has passed away. Like it or not, most modern nations are mosaic, and this mosaicism is even being enriched as time goes by. This is due to a two-fold reason: First, people—for benevolent or malevolent reasons—are ‘digging up’ that which can make them distinguishable as a ‘group’. This can be their essentially ‘supreme’ race, their ‘magisterial’ history, their ‘righteous’ religion, or their ‘archetypicality’. Second, besides the heterogeneities which have been retrieved from the collective memory, seminal heterogeneities are being de novo created, now more than ever before—gay-ism is the perfect example thereof. Notice that what I am referring to by gay-ism is gay as an essence, not an existence.
Where is all this driving us? And, how shall we choose to go from where we now stand?
Inter-culturalism, rather than multi-culturalism, is what I propose as the most likely portal to properly handle the ‘problem’ of the constitution of the modern ‘nation’ depicted above. Multiculturalism, advocating a society that merely recognizes and extends equitable status to distinct cultural and religious groups, is a sheer façade. What evolutionary (in the literal, not the ideological sense) lessons can we learn from such policy? How can we truly grow as persons and peoples? Honestly-speaking, little, if not nothing. We give applause when Milk is announced to be the Oscars winner. We become better, at best, at hiding our fears, non-understandings, and discomfort and, at worst, at hiding our prejudices, intolerances and mockeries, at least when we are ‘out there’.
On the other hand, 'interculturalism', or rather what I prefer to call ‘inter-other-ism’, requiring a genuine openness to be exposed to the world of the ‘Other’ (which is all-inclusive of anyone/thing that is not me), constructs; every encounter takes us one step further towards ourselves. Yes. The whole ‘problem’ metamorphoses into a blessing, an inexhaustible ‘mine’; the more we go there, the more we learn about ourselves through experiencing the ‘Other’. True—the ‘Other’ becomes a gift, rather than a hardship, which we become thankful for. Every time we are exposed to an element of a different disposition, attitude, culture, accent, orientation, or religion, a dialogue will ensue, both within ourselves and without, with that ‘Other’. ‘Interotherism’ seeks so many ‘nobilities’: Commonalities become both retrieved as well as created in our ‘memories’; complexities—those constituting our very human being-ness—become re-recognized for what they are, instead of this reductive commoditization we have been ‘enduring’, which has transformed us into ‘insipid, blatant wanna-be copycats’.
The ‘Other’ becomes a part of who we are—they become incorporated into our senses and sensibilities, about ourselves as well as the others. We embark on a quest for enriching our collective ‘phenomène’ of Ourselves, the Others, the Universe and God with our lived particularities. No more sense of superiority of inferiority shall exist, neither on the inside nor the outside; such scale shall cease to be viable. We will be willing, nay, encouraged, excited to bring forth our pasts and presents; our fears and ignorances; our dilemmas and skepticisms; our beliefs, thoughts and dreams; our ‘canons’. For there shall be one thing that truly matters: Unless we expand that space within ourselves by those spaces in our comrades in this world, we shall continue to be weak, no matter how strong we try to be; ignorant and petty, no matter how knowledgeable and wise we persevere to become.
