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Opinion: Diversity makes America more viable by building resistance to undemocratic rule

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To the editor: Initially, if somewhat wistfully, American society was built on the notion of e pluribus unum — “out of many, one” — presuming the desirability of diversity. Nothing about that noble notion demands total renouncement of one’s heritage as the price to be paid for assimilation to “Americanism.”

Jonah Goldberg does a semantical dance around this venerable truth. He focuses on the proposition that “diversity has always been our strength,” as Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) posited somewhat inartfully. (“What if diversity isn’t America’s strength?” Opinion, Jan. 15)

If only Goldberg instead had considered whether diversity promotes viability — not strength per se — as incontrovertibly applies in natural ecosystems. Whether a country can project strength through military or economic power doesn’t guarantee its viability nearly so much as a diverse, democratically governed populace.

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America’s existential challenges stem from ever more oligarchic rule, not from demographic diversity.

Sandra Perez, Santa Maria

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To the editor: Our raucous American society of many tongues, many ethnicities and several genders is diverse because that’s the way we have historically rolled. We native born have never known anything but this diversity and, given our national egomania, of course it is glorious and better than what obtains in other successful countries like China and Japan.

We must extoll diversity if we are to remain true to our belief in equal opportunity, redress international historical injustices and maintain an intact social fabric so that differences of opinion on contentious subjects are limited to wars of words and not something more damaging.

While basing my belief on moral and pragmatic grounds, I call on our social and political betters to explain just why residential, campus and workplace diversity is a force multiplier in and of itself.

Paul Bloustein, Cincinnati

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To the editor: Goldberg may be correct in questioning the validity of Graham’s “diversity has always been our strength” statement. But I doubt that many people would argue with this statement: “Making diversity work has always been our strength.”

Paul Burns, Granada Hills

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