We need a new, deeper appreciation of the ethnic histories of the American people, not a reduction of American history to ethnic histories.

Steven C. Rockefeller
About This Quote

We need a new, deeper appreciation of the ethnic histories of the American people, not a reduction of American history to ethnic histories. This quote is an excellent example of the dangers of group thinking. If you’re working on any kind of project, you want to think broadly. You want to be able to see all sides, all perspectives.

If you’re learning about another people’s history, though, it can be tempting to focus on that history and not on the larger picture: how the history fits into the bigger picture of world history. You might think that if we learn about one culture's history we will be more likely to learn about other cultures' histories as well. But that's not necessarily true.

Learning about one culture's history can make it difficult for us to see other cultures as fully as they deserve to be seen.

Source: Multiculturalism

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