It is undeniable that diversity makes beauty. The proof of this fact is when we come to a park and notice the beauty of the varying flowers and plants grown there. Without such a variety, the park will just look plain and become less nice to see. The same goes for the world’s population; if it consists only of one ethnic group, it will turn the world into an uninteresting place to settle in.
Diversity, however, is a challenge to deal with as well. If it is not managed well, it can bring about disunity, the main cause of instability in a country. And what we see from today’s shaking world is none than a form of disunity in which people do not (want to) understand each other. They consider their own groups superior to any other ones. This condition obviously results in constant friction within multicultural communities due to diverse cultures, beliefs, views, and others. In the local scale, it may just lead to brawls, but in the global stage, it will cause far greater problems such as wars, ethnic cleansings, and genocides. All of these are no doubt very destructive to human civilization as a whole.
Thus, we are not supposed to perceive that our group stands out among others in order to avoid mass distruction. We are all the same. What makes us different lies in what we believe right. We should remember the most basic fact that every head has its own mind, meaning that each individual has his or her own way of thinking. That is why it seems completely normal if people hold distinct life views and religious beliefs. Besides, we also have to realize that we are born into this world without being given a chance to choose which family, ethnic, or even country to belong to. In other words, God means such diversity to exist in this wordly life.
As an example, we can take a look at our country Indonesia, which shows vast diversity in many things. It is inhabited by more than 260 million people of around 300 ethnic groups, spreading across over 1300 islands, from Sabang to Merauke. Because of its archipelagic geography, there is an enormous number of languages and dialects spoken in this country, which reaches approximately 750. Influenced by foreign powers and traders, it comes out to feature most of the major religions around the globe (Islam, Christianity, Catholicism, Hinduism, Buddhism) and recognize indigenous faiths embraced by the native tribes as well. These give us an idea of how heterogeneous the society is in various ways. Clearly, it needs to be preserved as a single one as an attempt to appreciate the desperate long-lasting fight of early people across the regions for independence.
Therefore, let us keep the precious heritage of “Bhinneka Tunggal Ika” (Unity in Diversity) by living in harmony and creating stability to help the government build this country even better, instead of resorting to extremism or spreading hate which fuels only fear and anger. Just love this fascinating country as it is, then see the true “Colorful Indonesia”, stretching long like a beautiful rainbow, as a gift from heaven.
PS: This essay was written to participate in a writing competition held by Alfalink Semarang.
