Community of Difference
Making a difference in one’s community demands the adoption of a global attitude towards people, events, surrounding, and culture. These are main avenues through which man interacts with his or her society. In most cases, society puts immense pressure on our choices so we end up giving up on what we believe to be right.
Generally, there is a confusion regarding the school of thought that one should subscribe to, which is usually a game of numbers. In this regard, in order to become a global citizen, I will pursue a balanced approach in which I treat racial, political, cultural, and ideological identities with an open mind. First, I acknowledge that in a multicultural society one is bound to meet people of varied identities. Physical interaction provides the first avenue through which socialization takes place. I intend to develop a racial project that will enable me to learn new perspectives about other races that I do not know about.
Racial projects provide a suitable platform on which it is possible to link the structure and meaning of race and which contribute to shaping the current social structures (Staiger 12). After collecting the data, I will analyze it superficially just to get a clear perspective of expectatons of students from different racial backgrounds. I will share this data with my fellow students in an open forum in which students will brainstorm on important issues.Secondly, it is important to understand that in any socialization process it is normal for people to develop cultural identities. People tend to identify better when the cultures are similar as opposed to racially different groups. I will interact with students from different cultures so that I get to understand their social codes.
According to Staiger, “learning differences involves one’s ability to identify and differentiate”(12). By understanding differences, I will be more receptive to other cultures. Purves Alan argues that cultural literacy is a necessary tool that can propel better association among groups (Steltenpohl, Shipton and Villines 79). I will also use the existing similarities between my culture and others as a way of creating a common objective, consequently building a liberal community perspective. Thirdly, I will adopt a liberal approach towards general and sensitive political issues.
I will also ensure that I understand the context in which a political subject is set before giving my view. This will entail disscussion with individuals who subscribe to a different political ideology. My aim will be to reduce assumptions. The socialization process that begins at childhood culturally encapsulates us such that we end up accepting the existing assumption in our culture (Steltenpohl, Shipton and Villines 87). Assumptions have previously been used to give global meaning to a political issue.
Thus, by eliminating assumptions, this will enable me to gradually join the mainstream society. The advantage of being born in a mainstream society enables one to subject their cultural beliefs, assumptions, perspectives, and values to questioning (Steltenpohl, Shipton and Villines 87).Finally, the main focus of my approach is to elevate the central function of diversity. The approaches will enable me to transform my understanding of diversity to a community perspective. Consequently, I will be in a better position to attach meaning to the diverse population factors existing in the university setting. For example, by launching the racial project and organizing a brainstorming session to discuss its findings will increase my interest to integrate with the identities, regardless of the existing ideological differences.
In the end, I will come out a champion of diversity.
