On the Murders in Norway: The Need for a Multicultural Vision

“Western culture” itself is multicultural. Breivik blew up his buildings with explosives invented in China. He counted his dead in Arabic numerals. The media is full of strident voices telling us greed and prejudice and self-righteous, self-justifying bile are not only okay, they’re patriotic! Breivik’s horrific murders were a clear message about where that thinking leads—to the death of innocents. We need strong voices now to raise up a powerful countercry, to say that all of us have value, that we’re here on earth to take care of one another, to proclaim that every difference of background and culture and perspective is a gift. We need a vision of how we might live in such a world—for if we can’t imagine it, how can we create it? […]