LTTW September “EQUALITY in DIVERSITY” Compilation
By Listen To The World
It has been three months since Listen to the World has started to use a monthly theme, and for September 2020, “Equality in Diversity” was chosen as the theme. The reason why we chose the theme is not only because the world is in a socio-political turmoil right now that threatens various aspects of our way of life – not to mention an ongoing pandemic and all that surrounds that – but September also contains International Days dedicated to humanity as a whole, such as an International Day of Democracy, International Day of Peace and World Tourism Day to name but a few. So, we thought, it is now appropriate to contemplate such contrasting events.
Our theme “Equality in Diversity” is all about perspective. The broader the perspectives, the better we can comprehend situations we are in. Having said that, without further ado, here is a list of writings, artworks and thoughts of LTTW’s contributors and friends voicing out “Equality in Diversity” from various perspectives. May this compilation triggers us to not only contemplate, but also to engage in healthy dialogue.
Your Food for Thoughts (a compilation of September articles)
Diversity is what makes us social beings in the first place. It is what makes human interaction and communication serve its purposes. There is much evidence that shows humans by nature are diverse; scientifically, politically or historically. One of the simplest examples we can find is in fact right in front of our noses. Read an article above about loanwords to understand how many everyday words we use are multicultural by nature.
Another evidence of equality in diversity comes from an unpopular piece of history that happened a long time ago in Spain. In this article, you will find how the birth of guitar and the development of western music very much related to a chemistry between faiths.
In contrast with previously mentioned articles that addressed a positive side of diversity, this article discussed more about the inequalities that arose due to differences such as racism. In this article, you will find an interesting history of how Black Muslim in the US fought against inequality through religion and arts.
An act of inequality is found everywhere on a daily basis. Without even needing to mention major issues, to some extent, all of us have advocated inequality so often we do not even realise it, including the way we dress as discussed in this article.
There are many bad things are happening in the world we live in today, but rest assured there also many beautiful things also occurring. The article above discusses the culture of charity in Cambodia. Not only can this help the locals very much, but most importantly, the writer believes the culture of charity will become a deciding factor of humanity’s survival and durability in a post-coronavirus world.
Ancestral symbols affect our life more than meets the eyes, both as guidance and discordance. With that in mind, there are symbols we should cultivate and there are one we should correct. The article above explains semiotically how traditional/ancient symbols are still relevant in correspond to today’s context, thus we need to preserve, cultivate, and last but not least, apply its wisdom in our daily live.
Your Snack for Thoughts (repost from “Equality in Diversity” Social Media Campaign)
Rainbows has been a human symbol to represent hope and diversity for ages. One of the latest implementations of a rainbow is LGBT’s awareness symbol. Thanks to science, we can now symbolize rainbows not only as a representation of diversity, but also as unity, knowing that rainbow’s color spectrum essentially comes from a single ray.
Reflecting ongoing major problems we are facing today such as political division, trust issues, territorial wars, media biases, police brutality and racism, does an International Day of Peace we commemorate annually become the lighting in the storm, or rather, nothing more than a decoration?
