Notes on Intolerance and Conformity from a Shining City on the Hill

by Nomad

A Turkish/Canadian friend of mine- we can call him Metin- told me that he was sitting on the grass in a seaside park recently. He was speaking English to a friend. It was another fine day in Izmir.
However, much to Metin's dismay, a woman he had never met before interrupted his chat and told him "You are in Turkey. Speak Turkish!"

It literally took his breath away, he later said. It was especially shocking that such a thing would happen in a comparatively liberal, laid-back city like Izmir.

In a country normally so tolerant of and so hospitable to foreigners, such incidents are uncommon. And yet, in light of the millions of Syrian refugees that entered the country in recent years, such incidents have been part of the political discussion.

Disastrous Exception

There's a very real feeling among the strongly-secularist Izmirians that this city is exceptional, unlike the other regions of Turkey. This reverence for toleration is also rooted in the history of the city. Izmir- formerly Smyrna- had had a long record of many cultures living in harmony, Greeks, Jews, Armenians (and other ethnic groups) lived peacefully for centuries, creating a haven for minorities as well as a singular urban culture.

But then came the catastrophic fire of 1922, when Armenian and Greeks were forcefully driven out of the city. Numerous atrocities were committed by unruly Turkish troops and irregulars against the minority population.
(Ironically, in the same green space where my friend was sitting, Greeks and Armenians huddled together and sought the help from American and British warships in the harbor.)

Today, the history- the body count and who was actually responsible for the war crimes- remains in dispute, The crimes were committed by others, outsiders, not Izmirians, Turks will tell you.
Yet. the people of Izmir seem, if not, contrite, then, at least, cognizant of what was tragically lost on 14 September 1922. Understandably, they prefer to look at the history of harmony rather than the disastrous exception.

Strangers in a Strange Land

But this kind of intolerance is happening in many other countries. The particulars might be slightly different but the reactions are the same. Too many foreigners. Too much outside influence on our culture. We are losing something precious day by day to people who don't belong here. People feel like strangers in a strange land.
That's true even in the US- which for centuries championed diversity as a pillar of American culture.

After a similar event happened to him, a young man, Eli Rubenstein, shared his thoughts on Twitter.

Last night I was speaking Spanish with a friend when someone came up and told us to stop speaking Spanish and “start speaking English because we’re in America.” Was told that I need to “assimilate.” Some thoughts about this...

1. Learning a new language, especially as an adult, is HARD. I can only imagine how hurtful these comments would have been to an immigrant working harder to learn English and be an American that most people born here could ever comprehend

2. What do I need to “assimilate” to? I was born in America. English is my first language. I’m learning Spanish as an adult and if I want to practice it I will. Everyone would benefit from trying to learn a new language.

3. America is beautiful because of its diversity. We need to embrace that. We are lucky to live in a country where we can speak different languages, communicate with different people, and experience different cultures.

4. We really can make a difference. I engaged with him, and while I don’t know if I changed his mind completely I did help him see the issue from another perspective.

5. When we see this, we need to speak up. These types of comments go against everything America stands for, and we need to fight for our values of diversity and inclusion that make America great.

Under Trump, it sometimes seems as if America has become a nation of far-right bullies and busy-bodies who demand absolute conformity and assimilation.

With the Will and the Heart

Yet, this was the nation that Republican idol Ronald Reagan declared to be "a shining city on the hill."  That phrase was originally attributed to the Puritan governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony, John Winthrop. The deeply religious Winthrop led the first large wave of immigrants from England in 1630. These were migrants who were escaping from conformity and they believed they were ordained by God to make a religious utopia in the New World.

In that speech- his farewell address in 1989, Reagan spoke about the love of one's nation, but warned also against blind patriotism:

An informed patriotism is what we want. And are we doing a good enough job teaching our children what America is and what she represents in the long history of the world?..We've got to do a better job of getting across that America is freedom - freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of enterprise - and freedom is special and rare. It's fragile; it needs protection.

Reagan's image of a country based on freedom and tolerance was something he thought separated the US from the rest of the nations of the world. As a nation of immigrants, our values were naturally unique. And it is not surprising it should be that way.
He also said:

I've spoken of the shining city all my political life, but I don't know if I ever quite communicated what I saw when I said it. But in my mind, it was a tall proud city built on rocks stronger than oceans, wind swept, God blessed, and teeming with people of all kinds living in harmony and peace - a city with free ports that hummed with commerce and creativity, and if there had to be city walls, the walls had doors, and the doors were open to anyone with the will and the heart to get here.

it seems as those we as a nation have drifted so far from this ideal that Reagan himself could not assimilate.

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