Dismal Liberal Diversity

By Noel S. Williams, AM THINKER

As several links to maps and indexes herein demonstrate, there is overwhelming evidence of an inverse relationship between divisive diversity mandates and happiness, the pursuit of which is one of our unalienable rights.

As evidenced at the “big tent” RNC, diversity is laudable when there is broad compliance with core convictions — and necessary in our vibrant country.  Some of the most telling testimonials were delivered by minorities who appreciate our munificence and want to keep America — America.  By contrast, radical leftist multiculturalism, adorned with diversity platitudes, eviscerates our foundational principles, erodes trust, and engenders unhappiness.  When there is no consent on our unifying ideals, social cohesion unravels and law and order is usurped by a “might makes right” brutal state of nature.  Something the otherwise dumb street mobs appreciate instinctively.

While magnanimous Republicans are reaching out to minorities who share their exceptional Americanism, so-called progressives are reverting to regressive segregation under the guise of diversity.  Many institutions that ostensibly offer inclusiveness, even incorporating platitudes into their mission statements, actually exclude whites (and sometimes Asians) from events — especially on campuses. The resultant discord may partly explain why unhappiness envelops our campuses-cum-indoctrination camps. Today’s college students struggle with mental equanimity, long before COVID-19 invaded us from China.

Misguided constructs like intersectionality and “Critical Race Theory” are inherently racist, ensnaring the weak-minded progressives in a constant state of outrage.  Unhappiness is further induced by diversity imperatives like those in the City of Seattle which coerce workers to attend seminars on “white privilege” and “macroaggressions,” all under the egregious aegis of some diversity coordinator probably trying to justify her exorbitant salary.  Even white male executives working at the Sandia National Labs have to suffer the indignity of mandatory diversity training that ridicules “white male culture.”  Forget about eggshells, as the PC policies presume privilege these poor chumps must feel like they’re walking over hot coals.

Suspicion and distrust are key components of unhappiness.  As the editor of the annual World Happiness Report puts it, happy people “trust each other and care about each other, and that’s what fundamentally makes for a better life.”  Not just in America, but beyond our borders the upside-down relationship between diversity and happiness is dreadfully demonstrable.   Let’s take a closer look at this report.

The top five happiest nations, effective 2017-2019, are, in descending order:  Finland, Denmark, Switzerland, Iceland, and Norway.  It’s noteworthy  that the Nordic nations tend to be more homogenous societies.  Indeed, witness the correspondence between the happiest nations and ethnically/culturally less diverse nations.  Clearly, countries that perennially score high on happiness are all in the bottom quartile of most diverse countries

Conversely, countries that are the most diverse are in happiness reverse.  In most indexes that compile happiness rankings, African despondence is preponderant; coincidentally, they are also the most diverse.  In fact, when combining language, religion, and ethnicity as indicators, the most diverse countries are Liberia, Madagascar, Democratic Republic of Congo, Congo, Cameroon, Chad, and Kenya.  Unsurprisingly, these countries also lag in various happiness indexes.  Want more corroboration?  Compare this world happiness map to this map revealing rankings of diversity — the dark contrasts are stark.  Admittedly, life is complex and other factors contribute, such as wealth.  Abundance sure helps, but it is not the sole contributor to happiness; in America, for example, happiness has declined even as GDP has increased.  No wonder the U.S. doesn’t achieve higher happiness rankings.

Democracy tends to be more vibrant in countries with more homogeneous happiness because there is underlying agreement about their foundational principles.  Disagreements may occur over specific methods to achieve societal ambitions, rather than the nature of society itself.  Importantly, those with different views are not labelled as “evil” by the “woke” crowd, which brings us back to America.  Watershed research by renowned social scientist Robert Putnam lends much credence to the conclusion that more diverse communities beget suspicion and distrust.

Famous for Bowling Alone. The Collapse and Revival of American Community, his 2000 book on declining civic engagement, Putnam reluctantly discovered (he couldn’t believe his own vast data, at first) that the greater the diversity in a community, the fewer people vote and the less they volunteer, the less they give to charity and work on community projects. In the most diverse communities, neighbors trust one another about half as much as they do in the most homogenous settings.

Interestingly, some of Putnam’s measures comprise the definition of the “pursuit of happiness” as proffered by our Founders. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy described what happiness meant to our Founders: “happiness meant that feeling of self-worth and dignity you acquire by contributing to your community and to its civic life.”  But then again, our founders dared to champion E Pluribus Unum in order to form a more perfect union.  That’s so uplifting compared to the fractious factions who elevate multiculturalism over assimilation, and who want to cancel our culture and topple our history.  For all of America’s supposed warts (few compared to most nations), we’ve laid the precepts to pursue our unalienable rights; we’ve long been the shining city on a hill, emitting luminescence to a dark world of suffering, wretched masses.

If you want to be happy in America, follow the examples set by the inspirational speakers at the RNC.  If they can rise from various depths to the pinnacle, from “cotton to Congress,” as Senator Tim Scott testified, so can you!  But if you fall short, you’ll still be higher — and happier — than the dismal liberals would prefer. God bless America!