Issue What might result from the avoidance of discussion or debate? Starter "It is unfashionable to speak of loving one's neighbour, but unless our society can move at least to a position where we can respect our neighbours as fellow human beings, we shall fail in our attempts to create a harmonious society in which conditions have changed so radically in the last 40 years. Such respect depends, in part at least, on being open with one another about differences of belief, tradition and culture. In our anxiety to eliminate the forms of insulting behaviour and language, we have created a situation in which most people are now unwilling to open any subject which might possibly lead to uncomfortable differences of opinion. In this lies a big danger. If neighbours are unable to discuss differences, they have no hope of understanding them. Those who wish to cause trouble then have a fruitful field in which to operate." Excerpt from Community Cohesion: A Report of the Independent Review Team Chaired by Ted Cantle, December 11, 2001 (government report commission by British Home Secretary David Blunkett in the wake of race riots in Northern England in summer 2001) Focus Questions Do you think open—and potentially uncomfortable—discussions of different beliefs, traditions, and cultures foster greater respect for these differences? This British report identifies a general unwillingness "to open any subject which might possibly lead to uncomfortable differences of opinion." Do you think a similar unwillingness exists in the United States? What do you think the authors of the report mean when they conclude that, if people avoid subjects that might lead to differences of opinion, "those who wish to cause trouble then have a fruitful field in which to operate." Do you agree with this conclusion? Suggested Resources ACLU Briefing Paper: "Hate Speech on Campus" "Spotlight Britain: Ethnic Diversity in Britain," an October 2000 report by the British Government's Foreign & Commonwealth Office. 2001 Nobel Lecture, given by the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Kofi Annan, Secretary General of the United Nations. More resources for this topic Starters for this topic: 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  All (.pdf) Note: The views expressed here have not been approved by the House of Delegates or the Board of Governors of the American Bar Association, and accordingly, should not be construed as representing the policy of the American Bar Association, nor do they represent the official position or policies of the ABA Standing Committee on Public Education.