A number of years ago, a Jewish co-worker and I wanted to share a part of our tradition with our co-workers. Hanukah was approaching and we wanted to make latkes, or potato pancakes, for everyone at lunch time. For some reason, we went to the human resources people to get their ok. They told us that we could not do it because it is against the law to bring religion into the workplace. At the time we were bummed out and also a little surprised. After all, how many companies have Christmas trees in the lobbies?
Looking back on this episode, I see something very dangerous in this prohibition. It came about because of the need to separate church and state. However, this need has joined forces with another one of our cherished traditions: America is a melting pot. Together, they create an ideal that says everyone who comes to this country should let go of their heritage, of who they are as a people. “We should all just be Americans.”
Nature points out a serious danger in this. This idea is the idea that diversity is bad and we should all be the same. In nature, without diversity, a species dies. One disease can wipe out the whole species because no individual in the species is different enough to have a defense to the disease. An example of this is the potato famine of Ireland in the mid 1800s. All the potatoes were clones and so had the same genetics. When a plague hit a single potato, the main staple of Ireland was destroyed.
From a government perspective, however, homogeneity (which is what the slogan, “America the melting pot of the world,” really means) is a good thing. It is much easier to rule and control a group of people if they are all the same. This experiment of homogeneity in the USA has gone on for over 200 years and it has not worked. As much as people try to fit in, they can’t because of their skin color or their gender or their refusal to give up their heritage or beliefs or ways of thinking. Their are some who are too smart and others who are just rebels.
I think it is time to try a new idea. Instead of striving to make everyone the same, let’s see what we have in common while also celebrating our differences. Wouldn’t it be great to encourage people to bring their traditional food into the work place and share it with their co-workers. Would our business not be better off allowing Muslims to not work on Friday, their sabbath, and Jews to not work on Saturday, their sabbath, and Christians could have Sunday off, their sabbath. Muslims and Jews could work on Sunday, Muslims and Christians could work Saturdays, and Jews and Christians could work on Fridays. And businesses then could be open 7 days a week w/o offending anyone.
We would be forced to learn about each of our cultures and traditions. This would lead to less ignorance and less fear and prejudice. Isn’t this what America is really all about? Isn’t it about allowing us to celebrate our religions freely, instead of telling us that we cannot bring them into the workplace? Wouldn’t it be better to listen and respect the Native Americans, who have stewarded this land for many generations, on how to live sustainably? And in that same vein, we would learn to honor and respect the land that they consider sacred.
Isn’t it possible that if we learn to listen and respect and celebrate the various cultures of the people that make up America, that we might learn to listen and respect and celebrate the differences in the people closest to us? Might this lead to less spousal abuse and child abuse? It is something to think about, no? Have a good shabbat everyone, and many blessings.
About the Author
Shmuel Shalom Cohen spent 10 years studying Torah in Jerusalem. Six years ago, he started Conscious Torah to help Jews connect to their tradition in ways they didn’t think possible. Shmuel also started, and is the executive directory of Jewish Events Willamette-valley, a non-profit whose mission is to build Jewish community, pride, and learning. In his free time, Shmuel likes walks in nature, playing music, writing poetry, and time with good friends.