UNIT 5
Below is an excerpt from the article "The keys to a civil
society—diversity, tolerance, respect, consensus " by Damon
Anderson. While reading, check your knowledge of the
underlined words and expressions consulting a dictionary
if necessary. Write a summary of the text following all steps
in the summarizing process. Then compare your summary
with the text of your classroom partner and ask him/her to
evaluate it according to the requirements for summaries listed
above.
The Keys to a Civil Society—Diversity,
Tolerance, Respect, Consensus
As we have read about or experienced in our own lives, the advances in technology
and transportation are creating a more mobile and global community. The global
economy is building a new network of relationships between people and
countries. People from all walks of life and all cultures are connecting with
each other on a daily basis. For example, 148 million people worldwide are
communicating across borders via the Internet. With the changes in populations
due to the effects of climate, disease, and violent conflicts, as well as the
changes in life expectancy, traditional institutions and the world's labor force
are evolving. Such barriers as those between the young and the old, male and
female, and prejudices against individual groups such as the physically impaired
are-increasingly being challenged.
Because of these changes and the growing globalization, diversity is an
issue that pervades every society. It is something that has impact on every
person and so it is an issue that needs to be addressed. The most common
subjects related to diversity center around race, color, gender, religion, and
economic status. Many other related subjects are also often considered such as
education, language, physical abilities, age, and culture. Diversity even relates
to more specific subjects such as personal preferences. ...
Throughout history, peoples and societies generally tended toward a more
homogeneous approach in their development and were often afraid of or
prejudiced against differences. Standards and norms were established according
to the beliefs of the dominant group(s) or culture(s). National identities used
to be developed on the principle of sameness—sameness of ethnic origin,
sameness of language, sameness of religion, and so on. Laws were created to
exclude or even punish certain differences. Groups and societies saw anyone
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Summaries
(or group) that was different as being automatically suspect and often inferior.
Civil wars and world wars have been fought over issues relating to diversity.
With the quickly expanding concept and realization of more interrelated
communities, nations and societies have begun to focus more on the variety
that diversity brings. It is becoming more evident that differences can add
value and quality. For example, Western medicine is beginning to accept such
Eastern alternatives as acupuncture. ... And breaking the age discrimination
barrier, U.S. astronaut and Senator John Glenn made his second voyage into
space at the age of 77 in order to conduct various experiments related to age.
Today's generations are beginning to look for or build common threads around
which differences can exist in harmony and the values in the differences can
be shared. The concept of sameness is being replaced with unity. ...
This change in view, however, is not coming easily to the world. Many
long-standing prejudices and practices counter to diversity still exist in all
societies. Education is one of the keys to diminishing the prejudices against
diversity. Awareness is the first step in the process. Helping students to become
aware of the diversity around them and to recognize the value in that diversity
is key to building a strong civil society.
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