Letter from Nicole A. Dillingham

Our Diversity Is Our Strength

In his opinion piece last week, Mr. Johnston relied on the familiar quotation that “a house divided cannot stand,” lamenting the diversity and lack of unanimity on many issues he sees in our country. But this metaphor goes too far; it should not be applied to undermine the role of dissent in a democracy.

Our country is less like a house and more like a village, whose residents have different religions, opinions, sexual orientations, and political goals. Acceptance of diversity, not crushing it, is crucial to life in such a village. Tolerance and respect for different cultures and beliefs is precisely what makes America unique and strong.

According to Mr. Johnston, visitors to the World Cup were surprised that the Americans they met were friendly, welcoming and generous. This may say more about our current president than it does about ordinary Americans. Perhaps it is President Trump who has projected an image of America that is false. Too often he has chosen to criticize Americans for their political and personal choices instead of seeing all Americans, even Democrats, as equal members of a Great Society that celebrates freedom in religion, art, sexuality, reproductive choice, and politics. America is great and welcoming because of its diversity, not despite it.

Indeed, Mr. Trump may be the victim of his own personal “derangement syndrome.” He appears to believe only in himself. Vanity, bullying and lying are examples of behavior which would not have been tolerated by Lincoln. In meeting ordinary Americans, our World Cup visitors may have met Americans who are not motivated entirely by money and dominance, and who welcome strangers with dignity and respect. This apparently was cause for surprise to our visitors, given the image our current president projects.

Mr. Johnston fears we face a bleak future with signs of “decay” everywhere because we are deeply divided along “political, racial, religious, cultural, gender and other lines.” My view is that such differences are an American strength. We are open, tolerant and a welcoming society. We live in a country that supports the right to privacy and personal freedom, governed by our Constitution and law. We make mistakes, we disagree, and we outright fail at times, but we learn and do better.

I gladly choose a messy democracy over personal self-aggrandizement and totalitarianism. I hope we, our visitors, and the world recognize that these positive American values will endure.

Nicole A. Dillingham
Springfield