The melting pot: diversity or dilemma? It is the working together, the mutual respect for each other's rights, and the tolerance

We are a country founded of dissidents, idealists and adventurers. Many waves of immigrants have washed across this land depending on the economic and political backdrop of the global scene over the decades. The relationship between immigrants and incumbents has been strained since the events of Sept. 11, 2001. For America, our diversity has been our strength. But even while we struggle to maintain a sense of inclusiveness to people from other places as we face the multiple cultures that converge here, we struggle with the concept of freedom itself.

I believe everyone should read Gunner Myrdal's essay "The Responsibility of Freedom" at least once a year. It seems to be a concept lost in the fray over entitlements and rights. For America to be fighting a serious war over freedom in Iraq without the attendant discipline of responsibility for citizenship appalls me daily. We mount such undertakings in the name of national security, in the name of world peace, and on behalf of the oppressed, but we lack the infrastructure of peacemaking. Such infrastructure would depend less on invasion and more on instruction in the doctrine about how to be a good citizen, and how to make a democracy work. The essential ingredient is for everyone to know, respect and voluntarily abide by a common set of rules defining common rights.

The privilege of freedom inextricably depends on the discipline and responsibility of the citizens to abide by the rules. We are living the tragedy of the commons writ large. Freedom without responsibility brings only chaos. Freedom without self-discipline invites a po lice state for enforcement. Our country is devolving into an undisciplined state where people have lost connection with the fundamentals. I would love to see the correlation between the displacement of civics as a mandatory component of grade school and high school curriculum. In the search for political correctness and avoiding offense, we have lost a clear understanding of how and why the system established here actually works. The low fraction of people who actually participate in the voting and local governance process illustrates well the drift from responsibility to complacency. Good government is the responsibility of every citizen.

I believe this drift and alienation of people from their responsibilities as citizens poses a greater threat to our way of life than any outside terrorist could impose. The perversion of the rules to a particular agenda without regard to the overall rights of the people as a whole and the erosion of discipline will bring us down faster than any bomb. Freedom is not free. We who are born of those who came here must accept the responsibility to sustain the system of rules that distinguish our country from other exercises in democracy. Without understanding our own system well, and promulgating that understanding to all who wish to come here as citizens, we will be unable to expand the concept of freedom to other places.

The dangers to our system of government lie in the self-righteous adoption of intolerance, legalized injustice, selective privilege, and opportunity only for those who can pay. Religious freedom is an individual personal decision; the right to practice whatever faith inspires people is part of the foundation of our country. The commonality of rules of conduct, of public commerce, of respectful interaction among people and for the protection of the weakest among the society constitutes the realm of politics. There is no way we can make sense of the conflicts in the world if we are ourselves moving away from our own core values: life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. As we look to the place of our country in the global context, we may want to add consideration of sustainability to this set of core values: to meet the needs of the current generation without compromising the capability of future generations to meet their own needs. Those who come here to find only work to fund their home lives abroad are like many who came in times past, and stayed because out of their flight from "the Old Country" came a sense of a new way of life. It is the working together, the mutual respect for each other's rights, and the tolerance of diversity that has always made America great. It is a two-way street. Those who come need to learn and abide by the laws of the land, to participate in the political process sincerely, and to share the responsibilities as well as the rights of a free society. Education builds understanding, experience of different people's cultural heritage breeds tolerance and respect. In a world divided over ideologies, such bridges are more important than ever. We are all responsible together for making our democracy work into the future.

BY PATRICIA M. DEMARCO, PH.D.

PITTSBURGH, PA.

Patricia M. DeMarco was the associate dean for Administration and Advancement at the University of Alaska Anchorage, a former commissioner of the Regulatory Commission of Alaska, a member of Commonwealth North and the Anchorage Rotary Club. She is currently the executive director of the Rachel Carson Homestead Association and an adjunct professor at the University of Pittsburgh.

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