Inclusion
Inclusion. This is a hard one, because on a personal level it’s likely we spend most of our lives excluding people and things from our lives. And while it's logical to argue that diversity is good and exposure to different foods, and music, and art will enrich our lives, most of us find ourselves settling in with the familiar religion, music, people and food that we like. And that feels pretty normal. There are even laws to protect our ability to choose, and laws to protect us from people who want to get too close to us.
On a macro level, on a country level, however, inclusion feels vital because it seems to me that it’s how the idea of one person, one vote works. Inclusion was the driving force behind the civil right’s movements of blacks, women, and gays. They were dispossessed minorities denied full participation in society and politics. They were the ruled and the oppressed. Laws prohibited them from voting, owning things, even participating in public life. As they gained their rights, it felt fair and equitable, and I felt we became a more just society.
Plus, no advance made by blacks, women, or gays in securing their rights had any material affect on me. And I say that as an old white man, and a member of the class that historically did all the oppressing. So, I’m puzzled by attempts these days to claw them back, and by attempts to discourage the active protection of those rights. Why would we want to become a less inclusive society? That’s a real puzzle to me, and a question to which I wish I had an answer. I can only hope one will come one day.