October is Community Inclusion Month, which celebrates inclusion, of course, as well as diversity, bringing people together, being part of a community, supporting social relationships, and the rights and contributions of people with intellectual disabilities.
The initiative can be applied in other areas, too, in a time when divisiveness over multiple issues affects British Columbians, Canadians, and people in general everywhere.
We seem to be breaking into enclaves of like-minded people, with tunnel vision tuning out suggestions or new ideas from anyone outside of any given enclave.
Pro-pipeline, anti-pipeline; logging or saving old growth, pro-vaccine versus anti-vaccine (or masks, restrictions, et cetera); welcoming or opposition to immigrants from Afghanistan or elsewhere; renaming of businesses or communities as part of reconciliation efforts with First Nations. Some of these debates come down to the environment versus economy, as if there is no common ground to be reached with healthy dialogue. Others are deeply entrenched in personal beliefs or nostalgia, which both put the individual before the community.
People are digging in their heels, and cannot hear what anyone with an opposing view has to say due to the sound of their own voice and those who support them.
Humanity has progressed by welcoming new ideas, and by hashing out new plans based on different views coming together. Has that diminished? Is collaborating no longer possible for the greater good?
When did the line in the sand between viewpoints become so deep? How can we get back to the desire to be an inclusive community and society?
