COLUMN: Celebrate the differences here in Logan, at Utah State
In a recent online poll The Statesman conducted, 32 percent of the people who responded felt they had been judged or discriminated against due to religion with 23 percent based on skin color.
People should never be in a position to feel like this. Far too often we as a society forget there are others out there who are different than us.
Unfortunately in a society that is so very steeping in religious freedom and belief, it is also one of the weakest when it comes to acceptance. At a school that boasts diversity and acceptance, it is not always found.
I have been very shocked when I watch how people are treated. Such ideas as, “They are not from my religion, so I do not want to be a part of their lives,” and “I don’t agree with what that group does, so I have to distance myself,” are not always verbalized, but are very much acted out daily in our city and at our university.
I have watched as good friends of mine are turned away or passed by because they do not attend a certain church or live a certain way. I have watched as their attitude toward our state and school change to one of discontent and contempt.
The cost to us as a society is great. Closed mindedness leaves us without understanding and disharmony. If we cannot accept others, we cannot accept the differences among ourselves.
I can speak strongest when I look at my own life. I am treated differently because of the choices I make. I choose to have earrings and tattoos and I have been told I do not “fit in” because of them. One girl told me that, “no girl in her right mind will marry someone like you. I could never marry a guy who has tainted his body in such a way.”
In reality, what makes our country strong and viable is the diversity of ideas and beliefs. If I recall correctly, it is the very thing our country was founded on, yet we forget all too soon that we should be neighbors and friends, not judges and enemies.
If we want to correct the ills of society and find harmony across the nation, we have to start here with those around us. Our founding fathers did not care if men were Catholic, Protestant or Jewish. What mattered was the belief that together we could be a strong nation and support one another in our differences.
How sad that we have forgotten that concept. I have often heard people say they don’t care what other people believe, yet when it comes time to act on these things, it is a different story.
Religion is not the only place where acceptance falters. Race comes in a close second. Utah has long been a predominantly “white” state. But that is not the case anymore. With large communities of diverse cultures calling Cache Valley home, the cultural color scheme has changed, but the attitude has not.
People fail to get jobs, find friends and even acceptance in the classroom. Should it matter what color our skin is? I say no. We are all part of the same family, mankind.
This week is Diversity Week at Utah State University. What a wonderful opportunity we have to celebrate our differences and find harmony among ourselves and unite as one people, one student body. If we pass this opportunity by, we only strengthen the chains of hatred and “cultural blindness” that often prevails.
The final area that often presents itself here is the unacceptance of people who are in groups or organizations which are different from those we would join. I cannot speak for everyone, but I can look at the organizations I am a part of and realize I have yet another reason to be pushed aside. Being in the Greek system can be a strong and supportive thing, from within.
I have watched people when they find out I am part of a fraternity, their entire body language changes and they assume I am nothing more than a party hound who drinks too much and looks for ways to get in trouble. I admit, I used to think the same thing about the system, but I have found it is much more than what the stereotype would say it is. Service, scholarship and strong bonds of acceptance have been what I have found.
These are not the only ways people are pushed away, these are just the ones I know firsthand. Many others exist.
We must become an open society and find ways to become more accepting. We are not the same, that is what makes us such a strong country. Don’t lose the chance to know someone else and to be part of the solution, not the cause. How rich our lives can be if we open our hearts, eyes and doors.
For those who are already breaking down the walls of separation, don’t stop fighting for acceptance. Help others join the cause, and help create a truly “colorblind” and religiously tolerant society.