Vive la différence

      I don’t have to tell you there’s a lot of tribal hostility going on in America these days. Aside from being damaging to society, these impulses are truly stupid.

      First off, people are hardly ever made up entirely of their racial, political, gender and socioeconomic affiliations. They are mostly just people. Pardon the cliché, but we’re all a lot more alike than we are different. And that is a fact.

      We all need to eat, sleep and pass waste. We all fall in love, grieve our losses, get carpel tunnel, worry about money, like dogs and cats (most of us), fuss over our appearance (most of us), drive cars, hang out with friends, watch TV, coo at babies, suffer our kids’ adolescence, revere grandparents/writers/actors/sports heroes, do foolish things when we’re young and have aching joints when we’re old.

      We are genetically nearly identical. Apparent differences are chance deviations almost unidentifiable in the human genome. Intelligence, physical strength, endurance, the ability to play ping pong, beauty/homeliness and crooked teeth are randomly distributed across all people throughout the world.

      Culture is what attaches itself to these vague dissimilarities, exaggerating differences and inciting conflict where none is necessary.

      My grandfathers were both hearty working-class blokes who overcame a lot of adversity to achieve a measure of success in the world.

My grandmothers were upper middle-class creatures of privilege, who married below their social status. I went to a high school with kids from all over everywhere, less than half of whom went on to college. None of us stuck to our neighborhoods, and if you played sports, ethnicity mattered not a wit. I think this helps explain why I could always swim in any socioeconomic stream that presented itself.

      I’ve always gotten along with everyone who wanted to get along with me, irrespective of their origins or distinctive characteristics. To me, difference is endlessly involving. I had plenty of friends who were a lot like me, but I never thought I should restrict myself to their association.

      In my professional life, I worked within a few international organizations, where this belief in our common humanity was cemented. You only have to close the bar with drunken Japanese, Vietnamese, Swedes, Germans, Egyptians, Nova Scotians, and a few crazy Kiwis (I could go on) to feel kinship with the entire world.

      I’ve always written my books accordingly. Thank God my publisher Marty Shepard never thought it necessary to suggest I add greater diversity. First off, he didn’t need to, and secondly, such a thing would never have occurred to him. And this was a guy with impeccable left-wing credentials. All he cared about was what worked for the story. We never once talked about a character’s race, religion, sexual orientation or economic standing as a thing apart from his or her role in the book.

      Other writers write books where a character’s identity is at the center of the narrative (Marty published a number of these), especially when they belong to groups that have been disadvantaged, disenfranchised or otherwise discriminated against. That’s a good thing, especially when it helps spread empathy and compassion. But nonetheless, the only basis for criticizing any book is the artistic quality of the work. In that, everyone should be fair game, because these are the standards that need to endure and make our art form deserving of attention and regard.

      Scientists will tell you that fear and hostility toward The Other is wired into our brains. I don’t doubt it.

      But biology isn’t destiny, and as the only animals who posses morality, we have it within us to overcome atavistic impulses. This fear and hostility are almost entirely the result of ignorance about The Other. This is easily fixable if you have an open mind.

      Contrary to the old saying, familiarity breeds understanding. Understanding breeds a greater awareness of the world as it actually is, not the distortions of the bigoted, manipulative and censorious.