Back in college, Ica and I were members of the school publication organization. This is one of many articles written by my wife back then. I believe this was used an editorial piece.
Writer’s Block
iCa Hontiveros(ica cheng)
Unity in Diversity
The world is becoming smaller and smaller each day. Travel is no longer an expedition to the unknown. Breaking news can be discovered through the click of a mouse. There isn’t much difference with the clothes of a girl in Tokyo, to a girl in New York, to a girl in London or to a Pinay Fashionista anymore. Seemingly, we are becoming one with the world. And with it we are loosing our identity.
One concept I learned from High school is ‘Unity in Diversity’. With which comes into my mind a tapestry, woven with the finest and richest colors. Each color has a unique identity different from the rest of the colors. Each thread is unique and different. Yet when all these colors are interwoven and intertwined with one another, they create a masterpiece. There is beauty from their difference; so as there is wonder as they come together.
We are like these threads; each one is different,each one is unique. I believe that we should all learn to accept and embrace each other’s beauty. I did not use the word ‘tolerate’ because this connotes a forced acceptance only.
Of course, differences will always bring clashes and misunderstandings. But always remember that once you say are better than someone else just because you cannot appreciate who they are and what they are like, then you are no different from Adolf Hitler.
Hitler believed in a ‘supreme race’ –the Aryan race,the tall, blonde, blue-eyed Caucasian with a long pointed nose; so much so that all other races were inferior and so much so that countless Jews were brutally killed in concentration camps just because of Hitler’s idea of a supreme race.
This is one of the oldest storied of mankind. Some tell of drastic fates that of the Africans who were treated like animals asthere were traded for slaves in Europe and in the New World.
Even in our own history, the Spanish looked down onthe Indios, on us Filipinos, while we Filipinos looked down on the Chinese. In our own country, the mentality of Regionalism has prevented us from becoming one.
But the acceptance I am pertaining to goes beyond region or nationality. It goes much deeper than that.
We are all like the obnoxious popular snob who would look down on anyone who is weird or different. Why would we look down on people who are different from us? Why must we ostracize anyone just because they don’t fit into the norms of popular culture?
Can you imagine if we were all the same? If we all dressed the same, if we all liked the same music, the same food, the same leisure, the same hobby, what a boring life this would be!
We are all different and we can all offer different things. Each of us contributes to something new and unique. And this helps make the tapestry even more beautiful and alive.
So think about the last time you looked down on someone just because he or she is different. You are just proving how shallow and close minded you are. You are only contributing to bringing dullness in this world.
We should all work hard to make that tapestry come alive.We should appreciate each unique color. We must accept each and every individual. We must have an open heart and mind. We must learn to accept and appreciate each one for who they are. Only then will the tapestry come fully alive. Only then will there be Unity and Diversity.
-Writer’s Block
Editorial Page
Flambeau
July-August 2007