Commentary: ‘Diversity’ doesn’t mean tolerating the murder and maiming of dozens of young people

On Monday night, a cowardly, disgusting, wretched suicide bomber murdered at least 22 people and wounded 59 at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England. The Islamic State has already claimed responsibility for the attack, which targeted innocent children and their families, saying in a statement, “One of the soldiers of the Caliphate was able to place an explosive device within a gathering of the Crusaders in the city of Manchester.”

Manchester has joined Berlin, Brussels, London, Nice, Orlando, Paris, and San Bernardino, among others, as another example of the rise of radical Islamic terrorism in the West. And yet, no matter how many men, women, and children are ruthlessly struck down by terrorists in the name of a violent ideology, the leftist media-driven conversation in most of Europe and the United States remains the same: This is just an isolated incident. There’s no need to worry. Only racists are afraid.

And then it happens again. And again. And again.

With every attempt to implement policies that seek to ensure only those people coming to our countries truly believe in Western values — the foundation of which is personal freedom and religious and political tolerance — there are greater cries for “diversity” and, ironically, totalitarian-like demands to silence those questioning policies that invite hundreds of thousands (or even millions) of unknown people from a radically different society that’s ripe with terrorism without any real form of vetting. We’re told to shut up and to get in line. And if we don’t, we’ll be branded as neo-Nazis, haters, and bigots.

And then it happens again. Another mass murder at a nightclub or another group of people run down by a terrorist in a runaway vehicle or another bombing at a concert hall.

Tolerance and diversity are essential and vital parts of the history of Western Civilization. Anyone who says otherwise knows nothing of history or of the tremendous value the integration of numerous cultures and ideas has brought to so many nations and cities around the world.

Perhaps the single greatest reason the United States has achieved the level of success it has is because Americans have historically, to varying degrees, embraced immigration, allowing us all to learn from our many unique experiences and philosophies. Through diversity, not in spite of it, we’ve become the richest, most powerful nation the world has ever known.

That’s important to remember on days like today, when so many are feeling angry and hateful toward everyone who thinks, looks, and/or worships God differently than we do. But it’s equally as important to remember diversity is not to be worshipped as though it’s more important than the lives lost on Monday or in recent months or in recent years.

It’s also vital we properly define what true “diversity” really means in the West. Is it a cultish devotion to “tolerating” even the most despicable and violent ideas, as so many on the left now say? Is it a commitment to welcoming into our country even those who would prefer to see it burned to the ground? Does it require us to tolerate even those who don’t tolerate others?

As we continue to see, this sort of “diversity” is not really diversity at all. At best, it’s a hypocritical, politically motivated PR campaign designed to take advantage of Americans’ new greatest fear — being labeled a racist — and at worst, it’s a slow, collective suicide.

Real tolerance and diversity don’t create an environment in which the citizens of relatively peaceful nations are forced to do nothing more than throw their hands up in the air every time children are slaughtered. True diversity and tolerance should, however, compel us to be accepting of as many differences as possible, so long as the foundation upon which we all build our lives is the same: mutual love, a belief in free expression, and an embrace of personal liberty. If those values ungird the whole of society, diversity can flourish and fear will perish. In fact, it’s the only way for true tolerance to ever really exist in a community.

The West has a tremendous opportunity in this important moment. We should embrace the benefits of the unique cultures and ideas of the world. But we should only do so if those people we welcome into our societies share the core values that have built the most successful countries in human history. Those who wish to come here for any other reason should be thwarted, and no amount of shaming from the reckless, irresponsible left should leave us, for even one moment, hesitating.

After what occurred Monday night, our children deserve at least that much.