IDIC is further than anytime in the last 30 years

We need to stop the Us and Them discourse for IDIC (Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations) a reality on Earth. And the events of this year, the year 2020, have thrown us further away from it than anything for a long time. The global situation has been worsening ever since 09/11, when this became the main political narrative and governments have been playing - with a lot of support from media - on boosting intolerance.

For IDIC to become a reality we need to have a very strong political will, investment in education and also self-regulation of media in order to build the basis for accepting that people are different - and to stop having groups who are 'nicely different' and others that are 'dangerously different' in the eyes of people, politics and armed forces.

We just had a discussion over lunch about the Black Lives Matter movement. My son said that it was a moment of nearly ending friendship when his black friend told him, the Jewish man from a country that managed to kill nearly all its Jews in 1944-45, that 'you must be black to understand what it is like to be discriminated for what you are born". This, indeed, is only a form of intolerance.

Just the other day, a teacher was beheaded in France. What nobody speaks about is the reason why there are so many attacts there. France has been trying to forcefully assimilate their Arabs into their Christianity-based lay culture.

And I find this the key: inclusive societies must be open for everybody who wishes to be different. Let everybody live their lives as they wish to do under 2 circumstances: 1. they do not try to prevent anybody else from doing so and 2. children's rights to freedom of though and religion are ensured. It is doable. In mixed marriages, good parents introduce them both cultures - be in a language, a religion or something else - and let them make their choices. And of course, accept those choices.

In a small, but multilingual region of the world, like Europe, language is one of the main obstacles to different cultures thriving side-by-side. School enforce their local language, often a first push towards integration or assimilation, rather than inclusion. Until the moment when the universal translator from Star Trek becomes available, we need to find other solutions. In continental Europe, for the time being, the recognition of English as a common language and a plurilingual approach could be the basis. Plurilingualism was present in Europe until WW2. In the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy many people used different languages for family life, for trade or when they appeared in front of a court. They had separate, slightly overlapping vocabularies, but if you traded in Slovakian, you probably couldn't cook in that language.

We also need to stop introducing "blind" approaches. One good example is holidays. Living in Europe you need to understand that for the majority of people Christmas is a holiday. But Christians also need to see that others may celebrate Hanuka or nothing. It is the duty of families, schools and communities to celebrate diversity rather than introducing something that tries to find a common denominator. That approach will not support diversity, everybody will be unhappy with having to act in a grey way. This is one of my favourite features of Star Trek: everybody's personal traditions, beliefs and differences are celebrated. Everybody is given room to do things important for them, and they often invite others to join them that they do, out of respect and curiosity.

Once you are curious to know about the other rather than act upon fear instilled in you by media, politicians or even a bad experience, you are one large step closer to making IDIC a reality.

Picture: Commander insignia courtesy of SmithsonianX