(In)different

The degree of civilization of a people is judged by its ability to deal with diversity. The different welcomed, understood, never judged. The different respected, loved, integrated. A sacrosanct commitment in an era in which fear takes root, complexity scares, hatred briefly ignites, lack of communication reigns supreme. But are we sure this is the way out? Could the answer be to simply rediscover yourself as different? Haven't we unintentionally ended up in a gigantic cliché?

What if instead of diversity, we started talking about differences? The nuance is subtle, but it contains a world of meaning. The word “diversity” derives from the Latin verbs divertere and devertere, composed of vertere (to turn) and dis (elsewhere). In short, to turn in another direction, that is, to move away, to deviate, to change direction. The word "difference" instead descends from the ancient Greek διαφορά (diaphora) and the Latin differentia. Common origin from the verb diafero which means to carry something in various directions, but also towards someone.

This is all the beauty and power of differences. Diversity implies a distancing, a journey along distinct paths, a distance that can be horizontal, but also vertical. For example, the typical distance of someone who looks down, perhaps judging and feeling better. The difference follows another logic. Bringing something to someone does not automatically imply listening and welcoming because on the other side there could be walls and obtuseness. But the movement of "bringing" presupposes an approach and potentially the choice of sharing. If I get close and the other accepts it, there is no distance, there is no paternalism, there is no imbalance. There are simply two stories in the mirror.

Where diversity pigeonholes, the accepted difference can generate unimaginable opportunities for dialogue, comparison and ultimately enrichment. Also because we are all bearers of differences: different in experiences, in origins, in family histories, in characters, in ways of loving, in matured awareness and doubts, in joys and wounds, in depths and abysses.

Happy will be those people, that society, those communities capable of nourishing this gaze. To grasp the truth that comes from everyone. To see the meaning dispersed in crumbs so that everyone can be part of it. Not to be afraid of anything, not even what you don't understand at the moment. Because this is right and because there is nothing wrong with being different. The problem, the only problem, if anything, is becoming indifferent.

Matteo Spicuglia
NP June/July 2024