Our Children's Future: Embracing the Richness of Diversity

What will my children’s future be like? It is a question that we all ponder as parents, sometimes with hope, sometimes with fear. Yet, I believe that we have much more to do with shaping that future than we might sometimes feel we have. This week, I want to talk about the multi-cultural, multi-faith world in which our children are growing up, and what a gift that is for them.

I can only breathe a sigh of relief that yesterday the Dutch election went the way it did, with the far-right anti-Muslim candidate, who was going to get rid of every mosque in the Netherlands, not getting the support he was predicted to have. We have heard all too much anti-Muslim rhetoric. We have witnessed too many violent acts against those who are Jewish, or Muslim, or who in anyway appear to be different than the white “norm” that has been created.

Why is it that “white” skin is considered to be the norm? Why is it that those of us who are white have advantages and privileges that we don’t often realize we have? I remember coming back from working for four months in Jamaica and thinking that white skin looked sickly and anemic. What’s so great about “white” skin (which actually isn’t white at all!!)? Yet, lighter skin brings privilege. It opens doors. Again, during my internship in Jamaica, I saw that lived out as the blacks with lighter complexion more easily rose to higher ranks in the government and in business. We’re seeing it more and more at our present time in North America, where white people can cross the border more freely than anyone of any other colour of skin tone. White privilege exists and we don’t deserve it.

Why is there “white” privilege? Why do some white skinned people think they deserve privilege? Well, it is not for good reasons. It really is because the white skinned people of Britain and Europe went out as conquerors – and they conquered. In North America, South America, Africa, and Asia, they arrived with the attitude that they had “discovered” the land. The policy was that if the people in the land weren’t Christian, then they weren’t considered to own the land, and so the land was “terra nullius” or empty land, ready to be claimed for the sovereign of the country from which the conquering explorers came. Those “white” skinned people who came brought the belief that what whites did was superior to what already existed in any of those lands. Most of the British & Europeans who arrived in North America, South America, Africa, and Asia failed to see the complexity of the social-political structure, the intricacy of the spiritual practice, the deep history and the knowledge and understanding of the land that already existed on these continents. They looked through the British-European lens, and saw “backward” people who needed to become just like the British-Europeans. The stated policy in Canada was to take the Indian out of the Indian (which is even worse considering that the Indigenous peoples of Canada were not East Indian – and the whole name was a mistake that to this day has never been fully corrected.)

We are all the poorer because of the policy and practices that sought to make the whole world British-European. Rich and wonderful cultures and faith traditions were almost wiped out, or in some cases, such as in Newfoundland, totally obliterated. The practice of forcing upon the indigenous peoples of other continents the British-European culture, and the Christian faith that was aligned with that culture, destroyed individuals, families and communities. While I love the Christian faith, I am angry that it was used in this way. What a different and richer country we would have had if we had learned from the Indigenous Peoples, rather than trying to make them British-European.

Today we have the opportunity to right some of those wrongs and learn from our past, for our children’s sake. Jesus sent his followers out to share the good news, but he didn’t tell them to destroy others with that good news. Rather he said, “Welcome the stranger. Offer hospitality.” He didn’t say, “Build walls to keep them out. Revoke their visas. Blame them for what is wrong in your life and in your country.”

We, as parents and grandparents, can work to create a world where diversity is valued and embraced, where the richness of different faiths, cultures, sexual orientations, gender identities, languages, and more is welcomed as something that makes all of us better. How do we do that?

First, we think of and identify our own prejudices, in our language, in our assumptions, in our choices, and in the jokes we tell. We are passing these prejudices on to our children and grandchildren without even realizing it. So we need to become aware of the moments we are making an assumption about someone else based on outward appearance or things we’ve heard about their faith or culture. When I see a woman wearing a headscarf, what assumptions might immediately come to mind? When I am choosing a line at a cash register in a store, does the look of the cashier change my choice? Does someone’s accent make me stop listening to what they are saying? We need to notice these prejudices and challenge them within ourselves.

Second, we need to reach out to our neighbours who are from different faiths, cultures and traditions and learn from them. Share a meal. Share a conversation. Listening to their stories is the best way to start to see the person behind the assumptions, and to learn from the diversity.

Third, we need to speak out when we hear assumptions and prejudices rather than supporting the speaker with our silence. It may be hard to speak up, but a statement such as “That hasn’t been my experience,” or “I wonder if that is really true,” shows that you are not in agreement and plants a new perspective for those listening.

Fourth, we need to try new ways of speaking and new customs that at first may feel very strange and uncomfortable. A person I am working with through the national church has asked everyone to use the pronoun “they” when referring to that person. This person does not claim either male or female as a gender. I am finding it difficult to use “they” in reference to a single person. In listening to conversation that uses “they” in this way, I have to keep thinking, “Are we talking about one person or more than one person?” We are capable, adaptable human beings – that is one of the things that makes us human. So I’m trying & learning. It’s awkward, but so what if its awkward. It is important.

Finally, as a “white” person, I am watching for the moments when I am being given a privilege because of that white skin. Personally, I know what it is like to be barred from something or considered less capable of doing something because I am a woman. Now I am watching for the moments when I see others barred from something, considered less capable or, even worse, deemed the enemy because of their faith, culture, sexual orientation, gender identity, language, or skin colour.

I want my sons to live their lives in the richness of the diversity that the world offers, the richness of the diversity with which God created the world. Their lives will be blessed by the diversity. As white males, they are probably the most privileged of all humans on the earth. Yet, they will not be the losers as people of diverse faiths, cultures, sexual orientations, gender identities, languages, and skin colours find their rightful place in the world. This is not a zero-sum game, where if some gain, others must lose. That is not how God created the world. In God’s world, in God’s justice, there is abundance for everyone, welcome for everyone, respect for everyone. That’s the world I want for my children. And I’m willing, as a follower of the Way of Jesus, to be part of creating that world.