Cultural diversity in national unity - the American experience

Abstract

When I was asked to come to speak to you, it was with the under- standing that I would talk about the United States, a society made up of many different racial and ethnic groups, like Malaysia. Like you, we have long tried to balance shared values with the unique attri- butes of different ethnic and racial groups to achieve some kind of social, economic and political harmony. We have learned that, somehow, these two strains must be reconciled if our multi-racial, multi-ethnic society is to be viable. This reconciliation is best ex- pressed in the phrase, "The hyphen connects instead of separates." The phrase comes from the educational philosopher John Dewey, who used it to describe America's variegated citizenry. The hyphen itself is the line between the words, "Italian- American," "Irish-American," "Mexican-American," and the like.