The Isle of Mauritius

Ever have one of those moments when you read or watch something and think, "That's it!" One of those moments happened for yours truly. It concerns the Isle of Mauritius, a small island nation about 600 miles east of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. It's origins are obscure before the 14th century. It is believed that Muslim explorers discovered the island in the middle of the 9th century but was abandoned because of the hostile seas. The Dutch then used it as a seaport but did not establish a colony. It was then used by the French who had used slaves to clear the land to raise sugar cane. Later the British conquered the island from the French and abolished slavery around 1860. Mauritius gained independence from Great Britain in 1968 and is presently the oldest democracy in Africa. (I know, it's an island but I am just repeating what was said, for the moment.)

Now the demographics of this island nation is most unusual. There are French, English, Chinese, Indian and European people living there who practice Hindu, Islam, Catholicism (Christianity) and Buddhism. Now one would think this would be a very volatile mixture of people. Other interesting facts of Mauritius is the literacy rate is an astounding 98% and there is no unemployment. The crime rate is so low the police force does not carry firearms. The island was an important stop on the trade routes and is now in the process of becoming highly industrialized. The Mauritians use English as their official language but most also speak French. Some also speak Creole.

Now what has this author's interest piqued? Well, Grasshopper, I am happy you asked.

We keep hearing people wanting change. They want everyone to be alike and not notice a person's skin color, ethnic traditions or his accent. The change is to make everyone alike. The tone is to have America to become homogenized. Homogenized? Are we milk?

Mauritius is not like this at all. This small island nation has made it a priority to keep the other identities of all its peoples. They have embraced all that is unique to each of the cultures inhabiting the island. So keeping this in mind, it is fascinating to think about this. Why can't someone say, "I am black" or "I am white and this is how I feel about the issue." Just think, the agnostic, atheist, Christian and Jew could come to the same table and settle an issue each using his or her own perspective without being thought about as ignorant in his beliefs.

In the video that opened my eyes to this phenomenon has a priest saying he could not imagine living in the island without the other cultures. The same was said for the other cultures about the other cultures. I thought to myself, "This is what Dr. King had in mind!" Each individual is what he or she wants to be and not having to feel concern about how others will perceive him. What a novel idea, others accepting people for who they are, not making everyone into the image of political correctness.

So like it or not, this should be our goal. Not to make everyone alike, how boring is that? My friends are chosen because of who they are, not how they can be molded. My family is a collection of oddities that make them hopelessly unique and keep reunions fun. How Orwellian to have to be alike, to be molded in a "politically correct" image. The idea of embracing differences is foreign to so many. It is the different customs, skin colors, accents and ideas that make us who we are. We are greater than the sum of our parts. Why not try to act like it?