In part two, we explored the importance of diversity in keeping our society from going to one extreme or another.  We ended by asking whether diversity itself could become extreme and, therefore, dysfunctional. 

Claro que sí.  The news media, in the pursuit of higher ratings, do not shy from telling about such extremism, at times with exaggeration or purposeful misinterpretation, at other times without embellishment.  Examples: 

·        in the pursuit of nondiscrimination, disruptive children are given the right to learn with other children;  this holds back the other children;

·        in the enforcement of entitlements, this generation of workers is paying Social Security benefits for this generation of retirees, all the while as the former grows relatively smaller in number and the latter relatively larger;  consequently, workers have to pay more from their paychecks or Social Security goes bankrupt (a partial, perhaps cynical, solution is mentioned in “The Flashback Quarterback”, June 28, 2007:  illegal workers pay into Social Security but receive no benefits from it);

·        in the protection of individual rights, those who react to unexpected situations are punished over those who instigate such situations;

·        in giving access to rights like voting and privileges like driving, government assumes a very cost-ineffective role;

·        rights under the First Amendment are so broadly interpreted and legalism is so ingrained that many people could be hurt before the wheels of government turn sufficiently to protect them—if at all;  dysfunctional minority rights, like the right to post pornography on the Internet, take precedence over the rights of parents to protect their children—the former can make billions while the latter pay out billions and are subjected to emotional turmoil;

·        creating more and more wealth takes precedence over everything else, such that our school curriculum is designed to produce more productive workers, instead of discerning, active participants in the affairs of the community. 

Extreme diversity is a manifestation of our idealism, which has been labeled dysfunctional in a past essay.  But an interesting question arises, “Do we need extreme diversity to give a needed balance against other kinds of extremism?”   Bothersome additional questions arise, “Do we need this tension, this ‘tug of war’, between and among extremes in order to keep a balance in society?”  “If so, does such never-ending tension lead to unhealthful stress, never mind the tragedies which arise, or does such tension, with its unavoidable detriments, give us the best possible life, meaning that, try as we might, we could not create a better life?” 

July 26, 2007