texified

I have just begun reading a book called The Last Theorem (2009) by Arthur C. Clark and Poul Anderson, the famous science fiction writers.  It begins in Sri Lanka, where Clarke spent so many years of his life, and spends some time talking about the tensions between the various ethnic groups.

It got me to thinking about the problems that so many countries have with their ethnic and religious groups.  Here in our country, we try to celebrate our diversity and claim that it makes us stronger, but in some countries the conflict between the many factions makes me wonder if such diversity can go just so far before being counterproductive.  Sri Lanka seems to be a good example of this type of this type of conflict.

There are many ethnic and religious groups in Sri Lanka.  Some of these groups have been living in this area for many years, and instead of being assimilated, they still retain their identity.

The Veddah’s are the descendants of some of the ancient inhabitants of Sri Lanka.  These indigeneous hunter-gather people were gradually supplanted by the immigration of the Sinhalese people.  Human remains 18,000 years have been found in Sri Lanka that show genetic links with the present day Veddahs.  They have not preserved their own language which is related to Sinhalese, and are becoming less numerous as they become assimilated into the population.  Their religion is a mixture of animism and of Buddhism or of Hinduism depending upon the part of the country.

The Tamils are of two main groups, one group of Tamil speaking people has been in the area since ancient times (12.7% of the population), whereas other Tamils are of more recent immigration from India, coming as workers under the British Raj to work on plantations in the central highland area (5.5%).  They have never become assimilated and many are emigrating back to India.  Many of the Indian Tamils are of lower castes and looked down upon by some of the upper caste Sri Lankan Tamils.  Most of the Tamils are separated from the majority Sinhalese by their religion (Hinduism) and their language which is of Dravidian origin.

The Sinhalese are the largest ethnic group in Sri Lanka (about 74%) probably migrating from northern India about 500 BC.  Their language, Sinhala, is of the Indo-European group, and most of the Sinhalese are Buddhists.  There is a difference between the low country Sinhalese which have been influenced by 400 years of European influence and the high country Sinhalese which remained independent (Kingdom of Kandy) until the early 1800s.

The Muslims (about 7% of the population) are comprised of three primary groups of Islamists: the Sri Lankan Moors who are mostly descendants of Arab traders which came to India between the 8th and 15th century (now speaking a dialect of Tamil but originally speaking Arwi) ; the Indian Moors who came to Sri Lanka during the colonial period looking for opportunities consisting of: the Memon (from Pakistan), and the Bohra and the Kohja (mostly from northwestern India); the Malays of south east Asia, many whom came with the Dutch and English as soldiers or convicts.

The Burghers are primarily descended from the union of male European colonists who imigrated to Sri Lanka beginning back in the 16th centuries and local Sri Lankan women.  Many of the Burghers have immersed themselves into the European culture and are mostly Christian, tending to concentrate in urban areas.   Recently their numbers have begun to diminish primarily because of emigration.

And as if all this mixture of groups, languages, religions, ethnicity and cultures wasn’t enough, many of the groups have a caste system, often differing between the groups.  In India, another fantastically diverse country, such diversity has more room to spread out resulting in fewer groups attaining political power to the point where it can destablize the national government, whereas in the much smaller Sri Lanka such diverse groups have become entrenched and contribute to the destabilizing of the national government.  Most people are aware of the civil war between the Tamils and the national government that now seems to be drawing to a resolution.  See this site for a wonderful description of Sri Lanka, it’s government, history and culture.

So what’s my point?  It is just a concern that these conflicts between various ethnic, racial and religious groups that have been going on for centuries and even millenia, and which have caused untold conflict and suffering, could conceivably destabilize our own country.  Yes, such diversity enriches our lives, but…how does a political system act to incorporate such diversity and at the same time preserving social order?

How does America preserve our political system while accomodating the beliefs of such diverse groups?    The American founding fathers had a horror of involving themselves in the conflicts of the old world.   Unfortunately sometimes new imigrants bring all the old hates and conflicts to the new beginning that is America.  There seems to be a fine line between oppression and anarchy.  Thus far our country has managed to maintain this balancing act.  As new imigrants flood into the country, I fear this accomodation may be upset, resulting in increased turmoil.

We are living in a hurricane of change.  Old verities are being swept away as the change accelerates.  At such times I think that we must hold to certain unassailable beliefs in order to prevent being swept away in chaos, while at the same time maintaining a flexibility of mind and belief that allows us to adapt to this change–an absoluteness of principles combined with suppleness of mind.  Is this possible?