Comments on: When Multi-Culturalism and Individual Rights Collide http://www.coyoteblog.com/coyote_blog/2005/05/when_multicultu.html Dispatches from a Small Business Sun, 12 Feb 2012 09:39:47 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Mark Horn http://www.coyoteblog.com/coyote_blog/2005/05/when_multicultu.html/comment-page-1#comment-1186 Mark Horn Wed, 18 May 2005 13:35:40 +0000 http://coyote-blog.com/wordpress/2005/05/when_multicultu.html#comment-1186 <p>It's not immediately obvious to me why multi-culturalism conflicts with civil libertarianism. Maybe it's because when I think of the term "multi-cultural" I think of being able to pick and choose aspects of other cultures that appeal to me. But where they conflict with an absolute that I believe in, I reject that aspect of the culture. Here's an example: I love Indian food. But just because I do, doesn't mean that I like the caste system. I don't know what kind of food is produced by the theocratic culture of Iran, but I'd be willing to try it even if I believe that the treatment of Iranian women is oppresive and wrong. The distinction is this: absolutes trump customs. But where there's no absolute then there's nothing wrong with customs or tastes or other tame aspects of other cultures.</p> <p>Am I looking at this wrong?</p> It’s not immediately obvious to me why multi-culturalism conflicts with civil libertarianism. Maybe it’s because when I think of the term “multi-cultural” I think of being able to pick and choose aspects of other cultures that appeal to me. But where they conflict with an absolute that I believe in, I reject that aspect of the culture. Here’s an example: I love Indian food. But just because I do, doesn’t mean that I like the caste system. I don’t know what kind of food is produced by the theocratic culture of Iran, but I’d be willing to try it even if I believe that the treatment of Iranian women is oppresive and wrong. The distinction is this: absolutes trump customs. But where there’s no absolute then there’s nothing wrong with customs or tastes or other tame aspects of other cultures.

Am I looking at this wrong?

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