Eniyan

Together, Our Colors Paints a Beautiful Picture

Introduction:

I invite you, the reader, to join me in a simple experiment. You can do it physically or just in your mind. It’s nothing complex; in fact, it’s quite seamless. Imagine a white canvas or background—black works too, it doesn't really matter. Now, place all the colors you can find onto that canvas. Feel free to mix them all together or lay them out side by side. Once you're done, step back and observe what’s in front of you. Whether you did this physically or imagined it, the result is the same: together, all those colors paint a beautiful picture. This is my starting point.

Let's delve into the concept of diversity and why it is the key ingredient to propel humanity into the next phase of its socio-cultural evolution, which will inevitably lead to changes in other sectors of human society. The complexities of our post-modern society are immeasurable. I have previously described them as boxes in which social norms confinesus, designating roles and identities that make us seem different from those in other boxes. Our races, cultures, styles, norms, and traditions appear to set us apart, and for thousands of years, we have often chosen to explore these differences negatively, overlooking the beautiful picture they paint collectively.

I lived in Istanbul for a while, and each time I spent time with my friends—who came not only from different walks of life but also from various geopolitical locations, religions, and norms—I felt something profound. All of us, sitting together in a room, vibing to the same music, engaging in spirited discussions about our differences and how the world can move forward, all while sharing a smoke and a cup of coffee, gave me the most extraordinary out-of-body experience. If anyone were to view that room from above, what they would see is the beauty of the human race. Together, all our colors paint a beautiful picture. Let’s explore how.

Now I can waste our time trying to define the word "diversity" and make certain analytical points based on the words used to describe the word but I do think I would prefer to take a more socio-cultural approach, using examples from our diversifying post-modern society, reference movies and music videos, political institutions, progressive nation etc.

Note: There is a reason why war provokes advancement in our society, people don't always remember that it is because of the constant war between the 18th centruy till the 20th century with the support of Free trade that forced progression of the human society, better means of transportation, better means of communication, fast methods of production and so on, all of these though provoked by war was birth into a human society programmed to think towards such things, war created the social atmosphere for this advancement to occur and then built a culture around it , i usnderstamd that this might seem like a crude or cruel why to explain diversity but it is true, war brought difference characters together to pusn for change, but im not justifying it but it proves the point, that diversity allows ideas to flow. This is why social sciences is important this why understanding the complexity of our society is important, our individual differences in a social atmosphere that is in need of a push forward, that needs to evolve, this is the formula for a fisible Utopia, realistic Utopia, not where crime or sin is eradicate that's too far unrealistic but a reality where even the criminals have conscience, where everyone recognizes the humanity of their neighbours, where even corrupt leaders launder with a Robin hood complex pushing their every move.

Melting Pot Theory vs. Salad Bowl Theory

The melting pot theory of multiculturalism assumes that various immigrant groups will "melt together," abandoning their individual cultures and eventually becoming fully assimilated into the predominant society.

On the other hand, the salad bowl, or tossed salad, is a metaphor for the way an intercultural society can integrate different cultures while maintaining their separate identities. This contrasts with the melting pot, which emphasizes blending parts into a single whole.

Social scientist have been debating these theories for a while now, each bearing its advantages and disadvantages. What I draw from these discussions on how we should relate to one another is this: whether mixed together or arranged side by side, the outcome remains the same—"it paints a beautiful picture." These ideas were born into a world where polarity was still young, but even then, scientists have always sought to understand how our differences help us progress and evolve as a society.

People have always focused on our differences, which is understandable. From the time of early humans, Homo sapiens have been fearful of anything foreign, new, or beyond comprehension. Imagine how the first encounters between people of different ethnicities or skin colors must have looked. Regardless of how foreigners were received, there were always those wary of them. There are even instances in history where foreigners came to steal and destroy—like Cortez with the Mayans, Columbus with the Native Americans, or the Portuguese with West Africa. These encounters must have been gruesome, especially when communication was impossible, turning it into a fight-or-flight situation. This, however, should have been a temporary setback in human social relationships, yet it wasn’t.

Cortez made the mistake of coming to the Mayan kingdom with the intention of looting and destroying rather than building a sensible relationship with them. Had he tried to collaborate, both Spain and the Mayan Empire could have thrived collectively. However, the thirst for gold led Cortez to bring down a promising empire, allowing Spain to grow stronger by feeding off the remains of the Mayans.

I’m not naive—I understand the principle that one must fall for another to rise, that one dies so another can live. But just as I believe everything isn’t black and white, I don’t think burning one to the ground so another can grow is the only viable approach. There’s always a massive gray area in between. This is one of the biggest misconceptions in our socio-cultural atmosphere. Cortez could have learned from the Mayans, who had a rich, beautiful culture, and the Mayans could have learned from Spain. Yet, we keep going in circles, constantly finding reasons to be at each other's throats, rarely seeking a reason to come together as one human community.

Not many people know this, and some might not accept it, but America became as powerful as it is today because of its diversity (inclusivity)—even when it doesn’t fully commit to or acknowledge that diversity. Europeans didn’t fight alone for the country’s independence. Even those subjugated by Europeans contributed to the American idea of freedom, which eventually came for some through emancipation decades after the country declared its independence from the British Empire. White America learned from Black Americans and Native Americans, and vice versa.

Let’s examine these social theories. The melting pot theory requires a slow or fast process of stripping people of their various cultures so they can live as one. Yet, this would still require them to form new cultures and new norms. Whether these new norms are good or bad doesn’t matter because they will still bear consequences.

The salad bowl theory, on the other hand, suggests that these diverse groups keep their culture and identity while coexisting. One could look at America and think this works, but it too bears its consequences. No direction, no theory, is without consequences. Social scientists continue to debate these theories because these discussions are a necessity for the progress of the human race. Let the word "human" ring like a church bell.

This is my belief: neither of these theories should matter as long as we uphold and remain conscious of humanity. The simplest, most rational way to think is this: do no harm to others, help when you can, and recognize every individual's right to life, property, and liberty.

The advantages of these theories lie in their shared emphasis on diversity. In a space where different ideas and people coexist, they can abd should only learn from one another, leading to the emergence of new and better ideas. This is how it should be; this is how we move forward. Consider sports as an example: football, the most popular sport in the world, started in Europe. Today, even Europeans acknowledge that diversity has shaped football into what it is now, with players from every corner of the globe competing for immortality. The same applies to basketball, boxing, and other sports. Inclusivity has improved them because different styles, approaches, and theories come into play, and everyone starts learning from one another.

Think of Pelé, the Afro-Brazilian footballer. What kind of effect do you think he had on Europeans in the mid-20th century as they watched him dominate their teams?

Let’s also look at technological innovation. Recently, I learned that the inventor of video game cartridges was African American. The Chinese gave us printing presses and gunpowder, two inventions that changed the course of human civilization. It took many creative and innovative ideas from across the globe to get our society to where it is today. From the first wheel to airplanes and rockets, all are products of a completely diverse human society.

There are variations in social norms that may seem strange to outsiders. For example, smoking cigarettes in rural Nigeria is frowned upon, with certain attributes attached to being a smoker, regardless of a person’s character. But in countries like Nauru or Myanmar, 44% to 48% of the population smokes, sometimes using it for medicinal purposes. Some make-shift doctors in these countries even claim to use cigarettes to cure cancer.

The point isn’t whether cigarettes are good or bad. The point is, "one man's food is another man's poison," but that doesn’t make either man less human. In fact, if you took a piece of the so-called poison and added it to your food, it might improve the flavor.

Polarity:

Earlier, I mentioned a world where polarity was young. Before the 21st century, the norms and ideologies that divided us weren’t as abundant as they are today. Race, for example, probably had less value before the Renaissance. Despite our differences, humanity was learning from each other, as evidenced by the art and architecture left behind. Things that separated us were primarily geography, culture, and religion.

Today, in 2024, the world is more polarized than ever. Our boxes now have sub-boxes. If someone says they're Christian, you ask what kind; if they're Catholic, you ask which denomination. The same applies to race, food preferences, and just about everything else. We continue to break out into smaller and smaller groups. Once we start identifying with these labels, we build prejudices and stereotypes towards those who fall under different labels. Gender roles also contribute to this polarity.

I often joke that an alien invasion might force us to unite. This stems from the hypothesis that having a common enemy could push us together. Consider how, during the American Civil War, the Emancipation Proclamation allowed former slaves to join the Union Army, giving them more manpower compared to the South. Or how the Allied forces set aside their differences to defeat Hitler.

In today’s world, people become enemies over political differences, like supporting Kamala Harris over Donald Trump. We create new boxes for ourselves—liberals, neo-liberals, extreme left, extreme right—and once we identify with these tags, we start to divide ourselves further. But these are inconsequential to our progress. I look forward to a day when we set these aside for the betterment of a singular race: the human race.

A Diversified Future

I have never been too worried about things that are out of my control. A lot of us do worry a lot, though. But here is something else that is beyond our control: time and what it brings with the future. We have no control here, and fighting it will only slow it down—it will never stop it. That’s why diversity is unstoppable; it is one of those new forces that will eventually replace the old.

Here is my conundrum with our post-modern society: every one of us is stuck in our corner of the world, using our smart devices to say non-factual things about the world beyond our geographical view. We do this with politics, food, with people—we stay in our corner and judge the rest of the world from that space, from the information we get from friends and the internet. But to truly see the world, to truly be a part of it, you have to leave your corner, leave your comfort zone.

The closest we are going to get to euphoria as a community is through diversity, and it is slowly becoming an irreversible reality. Let’s talk practically. Americans understand this well. If they look at post-modern Republicans and compare them to 19th-century Republicans, their values are vastly different. There are laws today’s Republicans abide by that would have been unthinkable to Republicans of the 19th century. The old American Republican was an anti-establishment, anti-slavery, socially progressive party—they were the new fighting the old back then. Today, their presidential candidate is the billionaire real estate mogul Donald Trump. This is a massive change compared to how the party started.

New notions aren’t meant to kill the old but instead to be a another option, they therefore must find a way co-exist. There is no absolute way to do or accomplish anything. As the saying goes, "there is more than one way to skin a cat." Just because something is odd within your community doesn’t mean it is odd everywhere else.

To the young: do not let the notions of the society you were born into limit you. The world is a massive place, and while not everyone will have the opportunity to explore its vastness, technology is starting to bridge that gap. I hope no one misses out on this trend of change. Open your eyes to the world, open yourself to ideas beyond your comfort zone. This is the first step we all must take to help usher in a diversified future.

There are other approaches that require our attention, of course. Education is one of them. We must channel educational amenities toward global knowledge, not just local or rural knowledge. I used to laugh at certain Instagram reels where strangers (often Americans) are asked to name five countries in Africa, and they start with Zamunda or Wakanda. This proves the world is not as connected as we think it to be. We must find ways to break down these boundaries. Personally, I’m a big fan of a world without borders, but I understand why that might not work in today’s society—humanity isn’t ready for such a move.

Narrowness of Our Individual Minds

I feel it’s necessary to point out the narrowness of our minds. This thought led me down a metaphorical rabbit hole—not because I was stuck, but because I was bombarded with so much information. It wasn’t difficult to decipher or connect the dots, but there were just so many dots. Now I have to find a way to deliver to you what I see clearly in my head.

We are all products of our societies. There’s a reason why you can take a boy out of the ghetto, but you can’t take the ghetto out of the boy—it’s because the boy is a product of everything, good and bad, about the ghetto. None of us is bigger than the society we are born into. Our families are the first people we learn from. The information we get from them, we carry with us outside, where we either start to disregard some ideas or hold on to them. However, we will always bring in new ideas, words, and attributes once we step outside the corner of our homes. Every new interaction brings either new notions or reinforces what we already know. For those who never get the chance to see the world beyond their birthplace, yesterday quickly starts to look like today. What they know becomes all they know, and their mind becomes narrow after years of receiving the same information. They accept it as the only truth, and nothing can convince them otherwise.

There is a Yoruba adage: "You only think your father is big because you haven’t seen another." One can interpret it in many ways, but I choose to see it as, "You only think you know everything because you don’t know what you don’t know." If that makes sense. Traditionally, the cure for a narrow mind is travel. But with the world as it is, technology might be more useful for individuals to learn about the world outside their four walls. It’s a big, beautiful world out there—take it all in.

The Labels

This is how hate starts—the labels society gives everyone. You have to be Black, White, American, Asian. You have to be straight, gay, Christian, Muslim, Mexican, Arab. You have to be weak or strong. No one ever gets the chance to just be human. So much uniqueness in the world turns into hate.

Do you fight this hate? Do you tackle the labels? No, fam—you work with it, grow with it, adapt positively to it. Embrace the hate, but hold a flashlight in your hand as you step into the darkness. No matter what you do, as long as there are humans in this world, you can never not be different. Human fam! You are human. We are all human. Be different. Be you.

Kwabena

Obstacles to a More Diverse World

Maybe I’ve said it all in my approach to addressing the "narrowness of our minds." Just because something is the norm doesn’t mean it’s right. Just because you know one way that works doesn’t mean it’s the only way that works. This is where we have to build from. We need to continue absorbing more of the world so that beautiful ideas can continue to bloom from this association. That is where true progress lies.

Of course, we can identify certain obstacles to a properly diverse world, but these obstacles, in my opinion, are valuable at this time in our existence—though only to a certain extent. In the near future, you will start to see them decline. I have been fortunate enough to visit a few cross-continental countries. I lived in Ghana and Istanbul for a bit, and it is from these experiences that I concluded that change brought about by diversity is unstoppable.

1. Racism:

Racism is an obvious starting point. I’m still unable to pinpoint the origin of the idea that one race is superior to another. We know that figures like Hitler championed this ideology for a while, and white supremacists and neo-Nazis still hold onto it today. However, it baffles me that this idea is still so prevalent. Some white supremacists and racists continue to hold onto the false notion that Africans live on trees or that people from other ethnicities are inherently inferior. Racism, wherever this notion came from, is a stain on humanity. Transatlantic slavery, segregation, apartheid, colonialism, the Holocaust, the Nakba, the Herero genocide, the Rwandan genocide—these atrocities stand as examples of how far racism or hatred of the other person can go.

What I hope is that humanity learns the right lesson from these tragedies—a lesson that calls for a greater understanding of a picture that includes all of us, regardless of race, class, religion, or creed.

2. Education:

Education, or the lack thereof, is another obstacle to diversity. Our teachers, both formal and informal, are often receiving the same limited stream of information we are. They can only present the world outside our immediate society through the lens they were taught. Unfortunately, this often leads to misrepresentation and a limited view of other cultures. This is especially concerning when it comes to rural and underdeveloped areas of the world. People in these places may be resistant to new, foreign ideas or approaches that challenge their local culture and beliefs.

However, I am hopeful that as technology advances—think of initiatives like Elon Musk’s Starlink providing internet access to remote areas—people in even the most rural corners of the world will begin to have access to global knowledge. They will no longer be confined by their geographical and socio-economic limitations, and globalization discussions will be happening everywhere.

3. Conservative/Old Policies:

I understand why conservative or traditional values exist, and I am not one for dismissing people’s attachment to their cultural roots. However, we must acknowledge that certain old policies are fading away. Modern conservatives and traditionalists often cling to ideas and norms that no longer serve our evolving world. Policies aimed at keeping the "old ways" alive will eventually become obsolete. It’s sentimental to hold on to the past, but it’s necessary to let go for progress to occur.

Take debates on abortion rights, LGBTQ+ rights, immigration, and vaccination laws. As much as we argue about these issues now, the future will likely see the world become more "loose" with such laws. Laws will have to evolve to fit into a world where technology, society, and relationships are changing rapidly. Progress is inevitable, and old norms will eventually give way to newer, more inclusive ones.

4. Poverty:

Poverty is one of the most extreme obstacles to diversity. The song "Patience" by Nas and Damian Marley has the line, "We can fly to the moon, but can't find food for the starving tummies." This is a powerful reminder of how technological advancement can sometimes take attention away from humanity’s basic needs. Poverty is a massive hindrance to accessing and utilizing the wealth of knowledge and innovation that humanity has accumulated. Imagine if 5.5 billion of the world’s population had proper education and no basic constraints like hunger or homelessness. The collective energy of such a well-equipped and educated global population would be directed toward solving problems like climate change, renewable energy, and more. The potential for progress would be limitless.

I am not an advocate for utopianism, nor am I overly optimistic. I don’t expect crimes or social vices to be fully eradicated. However, I do expect them to evolve as laws, technology, and society evolve not into something worse, not necessarily better, it will be on how we define the word "human" to shape this evolution. Poverty is a problem that needs to be addressed if we are to create a truly diverse and progressive world.

Here is another dimension to poverty—it's not just a lack of resources; it’s a state of mind. When people are trapped in poverty, they may become resigned to their socio-economic situation and absorb the norms, behaviors, and routines that comes with it. A poor person doesn’t just live in the slums; they work there, eat there, socialize there, and are often wary of anything outside of it. Breaking out of this mental barrier is as crucial as breaking out of physical poverty.

Looking Forward:

In my limited wisdom, I can’t predict the future, but I can draw conclusions based on the evidence around me. For the next phase of human socio-cultural evolution, diversity is key. We must learn from one another, think collectively about ways to make the world a better place, and push beyond the labels, creeds, and divisions that have long held us back.

I believe that if we change our approach to dealing with new or unfamiliar ideas, we will take a massive step forward. Instead of seeing differences as polarizing factors, we should strive to learn from them. And if we can’t adopt them, we should at least respect them. Our differences don’t make us less human; they make us unique.

As I discussed in my earlier reflections on "Ubuntu," we as individuals are who we are because of the collective. Each of us carries a piece of the human experience, and our individual perspectives are shaped by the larger world around us.

Diversity is the key ingredient required to catapult humanity to where it needs to be. It is a change no one can stop.

In summary, the obstacles to diversity are formidable, but they are not insurmountable. Whether it’s racism, education, poverty, or outdated policies, we can overcome these challenges by embracing change, expanding our minds, and learning from one another. As we move forward, let’s remember that true progress lies not in conformity, but in celebrating the rich, diverse tapestry of human experience. We must continue to learn, grow, and adapt together—because diversity is the future.

Diversity

There are some people

Who think very logically

They have a hard time

Seeing anything that

Doesn't make sense in

Their minds and that

Doesn't fit into their

Ideas of what is

Logical and right and

What they can see right

In front of their eyes

There are also the

People who understand

And comprehend the

World around them

Through their feelings

And emotions and

Can see the bigger

Picture and the bigger

Plan easier than most

We all make up our

Own parts and we

All have our own

Purpose and even

Though we are all

Different in our own

Ways we must learn to

Appreciate the wonderful

Differences that make

Up the whole and

To see and take notice

Of the wonderful and

Beautiful diversity of

Life and of people and

Of thoughts and even

Of the Earth as well

As we begin to

Celebrate the diversity

Instead of trying to

Segregate and separate

Ourselves based on our

Differences we should

Be trying to learn and

Understand from each

Other instead of trying

To conquer and subjugate

People to our ideas and

Ways of thinking we should

Be trying to see things

From the other side of

Things and understanding

There is more the life than

Right or wrong and trying

To prove yourself to others

And seeing that even with

All of our differences we

Are for more connected

And alike than we all

Could imagine and once

We understand that simple

Truth everything else starts

To fall into place as we start

To see the beautiful diversity

And the wonder of life as

We begin to see things

More completely and

Understand we are all

Parts of one big great

Diverse community that

We call the human race.

The Artwork:

The art pieces displayed here come from various creators, featuring a blend of AI-generated images and works uploaded by incredible artists I discovered on Pinterest. Yes, I said Pinterest! I hope you see this as a sign of respect for your work, and I trust that my thoughts expressed herein portray your art in the right light. Thank you all!