CONSERVATVE VEW ON MULTCULTURALSM The term multicultural has come to define a society that is particularly diverse, usually as a result

of immigration. It has also come to define the policies necessary to manage such a society. It has come to embody, in other words, both a description of the lived experience of diversity and a prescription for the management of such diversity. When most people say that multiculturalism is a good thing, what they mean is the experience of living in a society that is less insular, less homogeneous, more vibrant and cosmopolitan than before. Those who advocate multiculturalism as a set of prescriptive policies are, however, talking about something different. Multiculturalism, they argue, requires the public recognition and affirmation of cultural differences. Different peoples and cultures have different values, beliefs and truths, many of which are incommensurate, but all of which are valid in their own context. Social justice requires not just that individuals be treated as political equals, but that their cultural beliefs also be treated as equally valid, and indeed that they be institutionalized in the public sphere.

At the heart of most multicultural philosophies is the belief that an individuals cultural background frames his or her identity and helps define who that person is. Hence, if we want to treat individuals with dignity and respect, we must also treat with dignity and respect the groups that furnish them with their sense of personal being. The liberal is in theory committed to equal respect for persons, Bhikhu Parekh argues. Since human beings are culturally embedded, respect for them entails respect for their cultures and ways of life. Conservatives believe that everyone has a better chance at the western countries through assimilation into those cultures, rather than separating into groups. Conservatives believe that pushing multiculturalism can actually result in people being held back from succeeding in foreign countries. Most of the countries (unlike Europe, which promotes multiculturalism) has had the best track record in the history of the modern world of assimilating people from

many different backgrounds. If people want to assimilate and not separate themselves out, foreign countries certainly offers them that opportunity. Conservatives believe that teaching English to non-English speaking kids should be a top priority in english speaking states schools, rather than trying to teach them in their first language. Conservatives believe that it actually would help non-English speaking kids to assimilate and succeed. Give them as much extra help learning English early on so that they can learn their other subjects in English as they go through school. Not only do we believe that it makes the most sense for individual kids, but it also makes the most sense for educational programs that cant afford to pay bilingual teachers to teach these kids separately. Conservatives believe that the way schools have been doing this is a good example of political correctness taking over common sense. For several decades now the western world has enthusiastically embraced the notion of multiculturalism. That is an ideology that promotes the belief that all cultures can harmoniously share the same geography and express themselves freely, and everyones rights can be mutually respected. Sound a little utopian? Well of course it does. Try a little multicultural church building in Saudi Arabia, or any other Islamic society for that matter, and you quickly discover that multiculturalism is entirely a western construct, and has no place in these strictly controlled unicultural societies. So just how is Islamic multiculturalism working out in say the westerns, or Europe who have been leading the charge now for a couple of decades? People should understand that Conservatives are the ones who stand for treating people equally and believe in the equal worth of every human being. Equal worth does not guarantee equal outcomes, but in western countries it does mean the opportunity to improve your life and continue to advance. Conservatives are the ones who want to find better ways to inspire children from all backgrounds to succeed, rather than separating them into groups and treating them like victims.