I promised a second treatment of the diversity-third of the Woke’s DEIism craze. I do not use the term craze lightly in this context, because DEI is more than just a passing fad. It is the political slogan of a cultural movement that is seeking to extinguish Christianity and install in its place Marxist socialism. It is repugnant not because Christianity is difficult for anyone, but the most devout Christians, to believe, but because what Woke-ism offers in place of Christianity is one-party rule or endless social upheaval until one-party rule is finally achieved.
Turning America into a nation that resembles the global ethnic, religious, and racial diversity of the world is a fool’s errand that will make America prey to the leadership of every other nation of the world.
Now, it is surely true that most large, modern, urban centers across the globe have already experienced a similar global cultural dilution, and that large urban centers around the world are also where the Woke’s DEIism finds its most popular appeal. It is also surely true that many find the notion of one-world government very attractive, because it would bring an end to the endless border wars between national states. And, what better way to achieve this goal than to make every local habitat into a microcosmic simulacrum of all humanity and promote world citizenship. This appears to be George Soro’s dream of a world-without-borders and open societies in which there are only global citizens. Certainly it appears to be the agenda of the Biden-Mayorkas regime that currently dominates Washington, D.C.’s Uni-Party establishment.
Sometime back in the 90’s when I was still resident in Tōkyō, Japan, I attended a conference on the nature of scientific discovery at La Maison Française — an institution funded by the French government to promote French culture and scientific research overseas. During the Q&A session at the end of the presentation, a young Japanese woman posed a question about a different kind of truth — the kind that each of us learns about the nature of his own society as he is growing up. It was such a Japanese question, and it was coming from a young woman — the primary purveyor of such truth in all societies. As the speaker appeared convinced that the only truth worth seeking was that made available to us via scientific discovery, he struggled with the question and appeared ready to discard it.
As I had attended many such conferences at the La Maison Française, I knew that it was rare for a Japanese in attendance to even ask a question, let alone such a profoundly interesting challenge to the speaker’s proposition. It was also the case that the young woman’s French was not particularly good, and it may have been the case that the speaker — not being accustomed to Japanese speakers of French — truly did not understand the question. So, I interrupted and restated the woman’s question on her behalf and that of others who might have been interested in the speaker’s response. Whereupon the speaker confessed that he had not understood the question and wondered that he could even provide a satisfactory answer. Certainly the French and Japanese perceive the world differently, he admitted.
At a difference conference held at the Kokusai Rengō Daigaku — the headquarters of the United Nations’ University — in Shibuya, Tōkyō, I recall listening to a lecture by Jacques-Ives Cousteau, the world famous deep-sea diver, who is best known among ecologists for the diver’s revelation of the massive ecological damage that often results from unchecked industrialization. He was not at the university, however, to speak about environmental destruction; rather, he was there to speak about specie preservation and adaptivity. During his presentation he brought to the attention of the panel of scholars in attendance that cultural diversity is just as important to human adaptivity and survival, as specie diversity is important to the preservation and flourishing of underwater habitats. He emphasized the close connection between human culture and the biology of each locality in which each culture exists. He perceived globalization as a threat to the survivability of humankind and emphasized the need for humans to remain close to the land. In his mind the best stewards of local ecology are those whose economic livelihood is derived directly from the land. In his mind national government who cater to the whims of large corporations that have little regard for the communities whose members they exploit are a threat to human survival.
At still another conference in Tōkyō — this time sponsored by Temple Univeristy — I noted that Americans and Japanese appear to have very different approaches toward nature. For Americans, nature is something either to conquer and exploit, or to preserve and appreciate in its most pristine beauty. There is little in between. In contrast, the Japanese are forever seeking to mold and shape nature to make it more livable for humans. In a similar light, a nudist colony in America is a place where Americans go to be nude among themselves in rejection of the rest of American society. Japanese hot springs (onsen), on the other and, are outdoor places where Japanese men and women go to bathe together in the nude as an integral part of Japanese culture and society.
In summary, diversity does not mean different peoples living together, rather it means different groups of people each developing and sustaining their own unique culture in harmony with the geographic locality on which each depends.
Most people believe that Japanese are all very similar, that they make for good international hosts, but that they remain a closed society that rejects those who overstay their welcome. To some extent this is an accurate characterization of Japanese society. One would, however, be very surprised to discover how international Japanese society truly is. Nearly ever culture is represented in Japan in some form or another, but each representation is carefully cordoned off from the rest of Japanese society. When you walk into a jazz bar in Tōkyō, you go to be with others who enjoy jazz music. Your host will likely be Japanese with a strong appreciation for jazz. This said, you must be very careful how you share your experience when you leave the bar, for jazz music is not Japanese.
Part 3 on Diversity will be coming soon.
In liberty,
Roddy A. Stegemann, First Hill, Seattle. 98104
Author of Mount Cambitas - The Story of Real Money
than it is a philosophy that appears to have arisen in the so-called post-modern era in which everything is up for grabs and no cultural is sacred, especially one’s own.
I once attended a conference on scientific truth at La Maison Française in Tōkyō, Japan. The speaker was a French philosopher of science whose goal it was to explain the search for truth from the point of view of scientific discovery. During the Q&A a Japanese woman who stumbled with her French that I understood well, but the speaker had trouble answering, for he failed to understand the question.
is a reincarnation of the 17th and 18th century Enlightenment. It is still another attempt to purge the world of the Christian religion