I’d like to add installment #2 to the maybe-series asking what kind of a country do we want to live in. Installment #1 is here in case you missed it, and it’s still open for comments.
As I did in the previous OP, I ask folks to assiduously avoid discussing current events and personalities. Specifically:
I want to encourage: Discussion about shared values and not-shared values; discussion in the abstract about political structures; discussion about how systems design can help or hinder us from creating the kind of society we want to live in.
I want to discourage: Discussion about current events; any mention at all of the current or previous President of the United States; any comments about any current political party. In short, anything that can knock us off the abstract game and into tribal warfare.
Today’s topic: Pluralism and immigration. I am in favor of both of them.
Pluralism: I want to live in a society that welcomes people of various backgrounds, cultural practices, sexual orientation and gender identity, religions, races, political beliefs, and hairstyles. I want our people and our institutions to be respectful of that whole cornucopia of humanity and of the people within it. I do not want to live in a society that values whiteness over other colors. As far as our Western European heritage, I want our society especially to honor the Enlightenment ideals that inspired the Declaration of Independence, the US Constitution, and the Bill of Rights.
Immigration: I want my country to welcome immigrants and provide a realistic framework for legal immigration–and provide pathways to legalization for people who have already been here for a long time as productive members of society. I want a system that takes a humane approach to refugees and otherwise sets immigration targets at a level that can offset our declining birthrates. It’s immigrants who can keep Social Security solvent, and immigrants who can power the labor force to provide healthcare, law enforcement, agriculture, education, and countless other necessities as the Baby Boomers wander off into retirement.
(note: although the OP is clearly written from a US perspective, I think the basic concepts apply to other Western countries as well.)
Question: What do you want your country’s stance to be regarding pluralism and immigration?
. . .and once again, please remember the parameters I’ve set for the conversation.