As
the election period draws near to its climax, the topic of politics
and the role it plays in the promotion of diversity and inclusion is brought to focus,
especially in light of controversial, provocative
statements coming from one of the presumptive presidential nominees.
More
so, in view of what has been happening in recent years, at home and
around the globe: gun violence, police brutality, hate crimes,
terrorism - the role of politics in the affairs of a nation and of
the world becomes more critical than ever.
After
all, political leaders determine the fate of their nations;
politicians and policymakers impact the lives of their constituents
through the decisions and policies they make.
Thus
the choice for a country's political leadership at all levels of the
government, should be based on informed, critical, nonbiased
judgment,
as it can either divide or unite a country, ruin it or build it up,
and move it towards lasting peace, stability and economic prosperity.
Being
more engaged and concerned with political issues can help citizens to
become wise in electing or supporting politcal leaders who reflect
their own values and beliefs and who will ultimately affect their day
to day lives, as well as the life of the nation. And this is so true
for America.
Politics
of Hate
Most
people value peace, but for many, this means when there's similarity
of beliefs, views, and lifestyles.
Yet,
peace can co-exist in a pluralistic culture within a diverse society,
such as American society. Unity in diversity can exist, but only when
the politics of hate does not overrule the basic sense of people to
preserve their own traditional attitudes, beliefs and mores.
But
unfortunately, a politics of hate is being promoted; a climate of
fear is being created, which undermines the values of diversity and
inclusion. As a result, people suffer, lives are lost. The very
recent sad, tragic Orlando shooting
is just one example of this.
Enacted
laws meant to further alienate transgenders – as in North
Carolina's ban against the use of transgender bathrooms – are fine
examples of a politics of hate. Such ban against access to bathrooms
corresponding to one's gender identity is based mainly on fear,
unsupported by data.
A
politics of hate promotes a narrow, confined, shallow understanding
of peace, something akin to what Bertrand Russell wrote as he
explained the value of a philosophic life:
The
private world of instinctive interests is a small one, set in the
midst of a great and powerful world which must, sooner or later, lay
our private world in ruins. Unless we can so enlarge our interests as
to include the whole outer world, we remain like a garrison in a
beleagured fortress, knowing that the enemy prevents escape and that
ultimate surrender is inevitable. In such a life there is no peace,
but a constant strife between the insistence of desire and the
powerlessness of will.
Politics
and Racism
As
discussed above, a politics of hate hinders the promotion of
diversity.
One
other factor that can impact diversity, either in a positive or
negative way, is political orientation.
A
research article
published in
the Journal of Social Science Studies discusses the correlation
between political orientation and race and how these influence racism.
According
to the research, findings of previous studies have shown that
political conservatives tend to oppose civil rights legislation, for
example, affirmative action policies
out
of concern that such policies would
create
an environment where employers would resort to hiring quotas for
women and minorities.[...]
An
important aspect of this phenomenon is the so-called Social Dominance
Orientation (SDO), wherein individuals or groups desire their
in-group
to dominate and be superior to out-groups.
With
regards to racism, there seems to be a correlation between political
conservatism and the so-called symbolic racism, which is the melding
of anti-Black affect (generally
politically
conservative) and traditional American values, adopting “political
correctness” and
not
expressing their prejudiced beliefs in public settings.
On
the other hand, political liberalism correlates with aversive racism,
in which political
liberals have adopted and internalized non-prejudiced values and
social norm
striving
for a more inclusive society, while maintaining latent negative
affect toward
minorities.
Thus,
political leadership with conservative leanings tend to craft or
support policies that may be prejudicial or discriminatory to
minorities, including towards LGBT people.
In the process, the promotion of diversity and inclusion is
undermined. Conservative political leaders may not openly admit, nor
be conscious of it, but underlying racist attitudes tend to be the
basis of their policies and decisions.
These
findings also suggest that political conservatives tend to be rigid
or fixed in their attitudes, while political liberals, though they
may carry conscious or unconscious prejudices, tend to become more
open-minded and accepting of others.
Politics
and Diversity
What
better way is there to promote diversity and inclusion than modeling
it in politics? Political diversity is the best
way to ensure
that political leaders are
able to serve their
constituents well,
as they reflect
their diversity, see things
from broader perspectives, and let more voices heard.
Just
as diversity is good for companies across all industries because it
improves their bottomline, so does political diversity makes sense
too for political leadership, in order to help build a more
inclusive, just, equitable society.
Political
diversity strengthens the political will to recognize the growing
diversity of the American population, and to include the
oft-marginalized sectors into consideration when legislating and
crafting policies.
Political
diversity allows political participation from a wider scope of the
citizenry, including minorities, and this brings greater benefits to
the nation. One thing for sure, it will help lessen, if not totally
eradicate racial, gender, sexual orientation, religious, disability,
veteran discrimination.
Yet
, a
survey done in 2013 showed a diversity gap
in American poltics. An infographic by Lee & Low Books reveals a
predominantly white and overwhelmingly male political leadership
in the US.
This
is the same problem with many industries. Big corporations, such as
in the IT sector, are generally male and white.
It
is not hard to think that the diversity gaps existing in the
different sectors of American society is largely due to the lack of
diversity in American politics.
Political
Participation
Aside
from a stronger political will to promote diversity and inclusion in
all segments of the society in the U.S., the challenging time today
calls for greater interest and participation of the citizenry in
politics, or in the least, for active engagement with critical issues
affecting the nation at present.
Political
participation nowadays is better facilitated online through the
different social media sites, such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, as
these serve as platforms for individuals and groups to share their
ideas and opinions on various topics and issues, gather information
and discuss things.
Just
as in face-to-face discussions, conflicts can also arise in online
discussions due to disparate viewpoints and temperaments or traits of
users, according to a research article published by First Monday (a
peer-reviewed journal on the internet). It presents findings based on
previous studies and current study showing the relationship between social networking sites and political engagement.
The
research concludes network diversity plays contradictory
roles in political engagement via SNSs and is context specific. On
the one hand, political diversity increased political interest which
was associated with political engagement on SNSs. Yet, political
diversity was associated with increased self–censoring behavior.
It also concludes that the effect of network diversity on
self–censoring varied depending on individual traits. People with
high self–disclosure tendencies and low diversity networks are the
most likely to self–censor. Extant research shows that people with
high self–disclosure tendencies are more likely to use Internet
applications to maintain relationships (Stefanone and Jang, 2007).
Recall that we argued previously about higher relational diversity
being a result of indiscriminate friending. It is likely that
disclosive individuals with low diversity networks are those who use
SNSs to maintain meaningful networks of actual relationships. As a
consequence, these users are increasingly mindful about the content
of their online communication.
The
point is however users enage online, it paves the way for
greater participation in the political life of the nation.
Yet, it
should behoove people to be more mature and responsible as well in
communicating with others, online or face-to-face, for after all,
respectful communication deepens social relationships, and creates better
understanding, peace and unity.
Thus,
the spread of a culture of diversity and inclusion can be possible
with stronger political will and support, plus people's engagement
and participation in political activities, especially in choosing the
right leaders to govern.
In
light of the Orlando tragedy, here is a quote from one recent Yahoo
news article:
How
we react to them as a society -- whether by panicking and demanding
blanket restrictions on members of a certain religion, or by taking
measured steps to protect people in the U.S. without sacrificing the
civil liberties that have made us who we are -- will speak volumes
about the country we will be going forward.
