Summary Of Diversity By Patrick Buchanan

Patrick Buchanan’s essay on the diverse demographics in modern America targets Conservatives and those skeptical about the benefits of diversity, and persuades those people that the pursuit of diversity and equality is self-destructive. Buchanan instills fear into his audience by referencing conflicts that occurred when people of different backgrounds and ideas diverged. Buchanan makes us feel insecure with our government by referencing past empires to prove our democracy will inevitably fail. Finally, by offering data and a logical explanation, Buchanan persuades us that diversity threatens the nationalism and unification that we value so dearly.

Buchanan dissuades his audience from supporting diversity by instilling the common emotion of

Buchanan successfully sways us towards adopting this stance on government by alluding to nations that collapsed after abandoning authoritarian governments for more liberal governments, similar to ours. The author’s first examples are the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia, which all “disintegrated when the dictatorships collapsed” (601, RRA). As Americans, we are taught that dictatorships are inferior to our democracy, but this example proves that dictatorships are increasingly durable compared to democracies. Buchanan’s next example is when the U.K. split up into four separate entities: the English, Scots, Welsh, and Irish (601, RRA). This split could have been prevented if the British monarchy had ruled with a tighter reign and averted the country's’ efforts towards independence. Buchanan’s final example is the House of Burgesses, which was restricted to white males, men of property (595, RRA). This government was exclusive, unelected, and proved that undemocratic governments are efficient, as the House of Burgesses paved the way towards American independence. Buchanan’s three examples successfully persuade his audience that governments that rule with an iron first and don’t stand for the toleration of different cultural groups are often the most durable and efficient