My favorite friend and I have an ongoing dialogue about multiculturalism, a subject of great interest to us. She sent me a primer on the subject produced by Prager U called, “Multiculturalism: A Bad Idea“. The following is my summation of the video followed by my rebuttal of the arguments therein:

Summation of Konstantin Kisin and Prager’s ideology as expressed in their video, Multiculturalism: A Bad Idea:

1. Kisin says, according to the politically Liberal agenda, “multiculturalism is about people coming to the West and forming their own communities with their own rules and practices.”

2. Kisin says the conservative and “American” definition of multiculturalism is “assimilation.” 

3. Kisin says that our greatest strength is not diversity but unity.*

My responses to multiculturalism being a bad idea:

1. My definition of multiculturalism comes from the Bible and not from a political ideology (like his), conservative or otherwise. Scripturally speaking, “every nation, every tribe, every tongue,” are and will make up the Body of Christ. (Psalms 86:9, Revelation 7:9) This sounds pretty multicultural to me.

2. Kisin needs to reread the U.S. Declaration of Independence which, very radically, called/calls for cultural and political pluralism. To be fair, the Declaration of Independence does make the case that American pluralism is based on a shared belief, namely, in an unnamed Creator God. Therefore, he is 33% right! The Declaration calls for an assimilation to the belief that, because there is a God, human rights are a right. However, it does not call for political or cultural assimilation. That’s exactly why it was written! It was written to get away from the British hegemony and the expectation of assimilation to the crown. It was a “declaration of independence,” not a “declaration of a different kind of assimilation.” (Assimilation is a tenet of socialism BTW. That’s a dangerous argument for a conservative to play with. Maybe he should use a different word..?)

3. Back to the percentages, he is only 50% right on this one. America’s greatest strength is not unity by itself, it is UNITY IN DIVERSITY. This Biblical concept is most notably analogized to the Body of Christ with its diverse but necessary parts that maintain their individual roles though together are unified in mission (Corinthians 12:12-26).

*When Kisin says, “our greatest strength” in the video, I am assuming he means “America’s greatest strength”…even though he is a Russian who became British and is working with a Polish Jewish American, Dennis Prager. I am also assuming he’s speaking as and for conservative Americans since the platform is Prager U. 

Summation – America is Vietnamese Pho

In summation, political ideology often leads to “throwing the baby out with the bath water.” Such views become polarized, even at times for the right reasons, or at least the well-intended ones. I believe his intention is to make a case that when people come to America they should become American and obey the laws of America. I agree 100%. However, does that mean they need to forsake their national and cultural heritages when those heritages do not transgress the law? For example, can I not be “Belizean-American”, speak Spanish, and prefer to cook Indian cuisine?**  According to our Declaration and Constitution, and even the motto, “Out of many, one”,*** we are called to be a salad, not a soup! It’s a logical fallacy to say that our motto means total assimilation. More metaphorically accurate than a salad, America is Vietnamese Pho. There are distinct vegetables, meats, and herbs, in Pho, each retaining their distinctions. At the same time, each adds a unique flavor to the base broth that melds into an entirely new flavor all its own. Both the melded broth and the stewing foods, are America. That is true unity in diversity, that’s multicultural without the ideological “ism”. That’s also the Biblical dream/inevitability, on which America was founded! Unfortunately, a true Pho won’t be achieved until we have a truly benevolent King, and that’s a type of socialism never known to humanity. (Except, maybe for a few months, just after Jesus had returned to heaven and the glow of His splendor remained on his followers: Acts 4:33-35)

***E pluribus unum. Out of many one.