Embrace our Differences? Or Forget Them?

Living in Malaysia, a multiracial community with a diverse culture, I have always seen propaganda that encourages us to forget our differences. Until now, I have accepted those advertisements, books and advice as something to follow in order to achieve harmony, tolerance and peace among our community. For example, prior and after the Independence Day celebration, there would be advertisements by several governmental and non-governmental organisations that promote us to be 'colour blind' and forget that differences exist between various races such as Malay, Chinese, Indians, Punjabi, and many more aboriginal races in Malaysia.

I've always thought that the concept they were propagating - "Forget our Differences" is a good way to narrow the gaps between the different races in Malaysia, for if we were really 'colour blind', we won't see a person as a Chinese, Malay or Indian, but we would see each other as Malaysians.

Until I came across this site ---

http://www.embracingourdifferences.org/

Come to think of it, the idea of embracing our differences makes more sense than to forget our differences. For me, to embrace means to accept our differences as something unavoidable, but we do not just tolerate the differences, we EMBRACE it and we perceive it as normal, that no two humans are identical, and realise the fact that we are not the only race, only group of humans or only type of people to live on this earth, but there are millions and millions of others who share some characteristics and differ from us in certain ways. And this, to me, is a miracle bestowed by nature, for all of us mankind are categorised as humans, as homo sapiens. Still, like how cats, dogs, hamsters, rabbits and more have different breeds, how computers and mobile phones have different models, how a delicious serving of curry can have such diverse flavours that stimulate our taste buds to the maximum, this is how we HUMANS have different types - many cultures, races, colours, lifestyles, habits, nationalities and so on.

I do care if you are black, white, yellow, red or even gray for that matter. I do look at you as Malays, Chinese and Indians. I do know that as people of different races, there are things which one can or cannot do.

What I don't do is deliberately manipulate the factors above to my own benefit. I don't use it as a weapon to hurt, to attack others. I don't highlight the differences as something bad, something people must avoid from mentioning because they are something sensitive.

And what I do, is to acknowledge that every one of us are special in our own ways, and as individuals, we should not forget that everyone is different from one another. And when I want to highlight the differences between people, I try to appreciate and show the diversity that exists as a part of our history and tradition, that makes us humans, and not robots who are identical to each other.

Let's say we literally follow the "Colour blind" concept a.k.a "Forget our differences" concept. What would happen is, we will be less considerate to the differences that exist between us, and when we are colour blind, we might become more shallow, seeing people as what we want them to be, instead of what they really are. We might forget that certain people cannot do what we do every day, certain people can't eat what we eat, certain people can't say things we say. And when we start to forget, we might cease to respect the differences that we have from each other. And when we stop respecting, conflicts and arguments occur, and this means the beginning of a breakdown of the peace we have fought so hard to maintain.

Maybe this concept is usable to a certain extent - if and only if the nation has only one kind of citizens with different colours, for the only difference that exist is only colours and nothing else.

BUT, in the Malaysian context, where there are so many differences between the citizens, not just race, but also background, status, culture, religion and more, forgetting our differences seems less applicable when compared to embracing our differences.

To my fellow Malaysians - a fine example of the 'forget our differences' propaganda would be in any of our assignments or essays or other works, where a sentence close to 'do not touch on sensitive issues such as race, religion or governmental policies' will be stated at the end of the instructions. Before anything, let me explain an analogy - remember a joke about ostriches? When they see a threat or something they do not like, they bury their heads into the sand and think that everything's fine. This is exactly what we are doing now - not allowing people to address the differences, instead demanding that people keep quiet. Let me put forward another analogy - if an alarm rings, and you cover your ears with a headphones and pretend that you hear nothing, you might forget that the people around you can still hear the bell. Read between the lines --- ISA for instance.

What I'm trying to say is, even though you try to put a barrier between the differences and the people, hoping for the 'best' that people won't notice them, people have eyes, ears and most importantly, they have a brain. Sooner or later, they will see, hear and think, and they will realise that we are different after all. So, instead of trying to make us become 'colour blind', why not be 'colour conscious', but in a positive way where you embrace, accept and acknowledge the differences as something that makes us human, makes our culture rich and diverse and gives us our priceless identities.

Just for additional information: the 'embracing our differences' was established in Florida. Compared to the United States, a massive melting pot containing people from all around the world, Malaysia has way less diversity. Still, in a huge country like USA, most of them managed to overcome their differences and work their way to the success of the country. And personally, I think they have got it right, better than what we have done until now. Let's look at the 'One Malaysia' concept - again, it seems to lean more towards forgetting than embracing. I'm not saying that it's wholly unusable, but in a long term plan, maybe we should go for 'Malaysians - Our Diversity is Our Unity' and start to appreciate what we have instead of trying to stereotype Malaysians into just Malaysians.

Perhaps it's time to change our perception of differences in colours and such, for they are important in defining our identities as different people around the world. Instead, we should work on acknowledging it in a way that does not hurt or discriminate people, but portray the uniqueness of each and every one of us.

Finally, just to share a meaningful quote from Mahatma Gandhi:

"You must be the change you wish to see in the world"

So, my friends, if you agree with me, start by changing yourselves =D