Differentiation and Integration

When Leibniz was mentioned in both my calculus and philosophy classes on the same day toward the start of the year, I thought that there would be no more cross-class references from these two very different classes. It turns out, with all this talk of solving for x, integration, and differentiation, I was wrong.

That's of course meant to be funny, as integration and differentiation mean very different things in calculus and philosophy. But the philosophical discussion of racial integration and separation crosses all walks of life and directly impacts the connections I have with other people. Should the world be integrated, in spite of de facto segregation and occasional conflicts, or should races maintain a peaceful separation?

It's a tough question. There are pros and cons to both, and even as our society has moved down the "integration" path we see conflict and separation. In our own city, recently named as the most segregated in America, we see ethnic pockets with little integration. So which is better?

For me, the question comes down to this: is it fair to clump entire groups of people together with a single label, and assume that interaction among these umbrella groups leads to inevitable conflict? And for me, the answer is no. I have a problem when people say that all blacks and whites are different and will never be able to get along- I've personally encountered and lived out examples that dismiss that. To be separate, I think, is to loose a part of humanity. It's to loose our brothers and sisters, and to reduce our judgment of other people to the basis of skin tone.

Yes, integration isn't perfect. We still see conflicts. We still see separation. Look at neighborhood demographics across Chicago and it's suburbs. Look at non-selective high school demographics. We live in a society where the law says "integrate" and the people say "separate"- with only a few exceptions.

So whats next? Will there continue to be separation, or will we integrate fully? I think, and I hope, that the future will be the later. The old ideas of racism and stereotypes will begin to die out, replaced by a new idea of looking past each person's race and seeing who they are as a person. A generation of increased multinationalism and understanding will soon rise to make a more integrated society.

Differences shouldn't mean conflict. They should be recognized and respected, but shouldn't bar peaceful coexistence.