I read an interesting article on-line today about a recent statement by the German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Last week, she said that Germany’s efforts to build a multi-cultural society has been a disaster. “The multicultural approach, saying that we simply live side by side and live happily with each other has failed. Utterly failed.” Pretty strong choice of words, don’t you think?
Of course, this issue is not unique to Germany. We’re even grappling with it in good old Westminster, Maryland. I guess we shouldn’t be surprised. Ethnic tensions have been around forever in Europe, not just in Germany.
Our growing Hispanic population includes people who want to be fully assimilated, and others who want to live here but are not open to assimilation.
I guess if someone were to ask me what I thought, my answer would be pretty simple. We need to find ways to get along. We need to find a common thread, a shared interest, a similar dream, and then run with it.
Without a doubt, we need to be respectful of each other’s cultures and look for ways which we can mesh them together without losing what’s special about each other. Yes, it will be hard, but not impossible.
We are all part of God’s family, and we need each other. The question for us tonight is what can we personally do to make a difference? If we take it down to a personal level, then I think we can slowly turn things around. One person at a time. Pray about it. See where God leads you.
