People Like Us

“We don’t really care about diversity all that much in America, even though we talk about it a great deal.”

Brooks argues that many American institutions, such as colleges and corporations, uphold diversity as a primary goal yet remain incredibly homogenous. He states that “diversity” at these institutions typically refers to racial diversity and that they often make efforts to become more racially integrated. Yet these same institutions rarely take into account factors like political views and economic status, so even racially diverse institutions comprise people with similar worldviews.

“The United States might be a diverse nation when considered as a whole, but block by block and institution by institution it is a relatively homogenous nation.”

This quote is an extension of the idea of the “congealing pot.” The United States is home to a hugely diverse population when considered along any metric. Yet Brooks presents his list of example communities to show the reader that United States residents are very adept at self-segregation in both intentional and unintentional ways.

“When we use the word ‘diversity’ today we usually mean racial integration.”

This quote refers to diversity as understood in American institutions such as academia and the corporate world. Brooks argues that diversity initiatives are typically intended to attract people of color while ignoring factors like political beliefs. He uses Brown University as an example.

“In fact, evidence suggests that neighborhoods become more segregated over time.”

Brooks argues that segregation is increasing in the United States. He states that newly built suburbs often begin with diverse populations, yet over time they tend to develop distinct characters that attract people from certain cultural, political, or economic backgrounds.

“The dream of diversity is like the dream of equality. Both are based on ideals we celebrate even as we undermine them daily.”

This quote illustrates the author’s primary point: that American society values the idea of diversity more than the practice of it. He suggests that few people would be willing to give up their own advantages in order to make their community more diverse and argues that even institutions that believe in promoting a diverse society are not actually focused on creating diversity in all realms.

“I’ve come to think that it is not useful to try to hammer diversity into every neighborhood and institution in the United States.”

Ultimately the essay concludes that trying to make every community and institution as diverse as possible is both futile and unnecessary. Any human society will consist of particular types of people who conform to particular lifestyles, naturally coalescing into relatively uniform “communities.” The author argues that while encouraging diversity in particularly homogenous places is a good thing, there is no point in trying to make everything equally diverse.

“It’s probably better to think about diverse lives, not diverse institutions.”

Rather than trying to shoehorn diversity into existing structures, the article argues that individuals should try to expose themselves to people different from themselves. Brooks suggests that someone living in a liberal coastal city could visit a megachurch or a place like Branson, Missouri—places where they are likely to encounter more rural, conservative people.

“It might also be a good idea to make national service a rite of passage for young people in this country: it would take them out of their narrow neighborhood segment and thrust them in with people unlike themselves.”

This is one of the few specific suggestions “People Like Us” makes with regard to addressing America’s lack of diversity, and it is the only one that implies an institutional rather than individual solution. Many countries require some type of national service for young people—usually military service or working in social services. Although this practice has shown evidence of improving social awareness among populations, its effects on creating diversity in Brooks’s sense—i.e., ongoing mixing of different kinds of people—are unclear. The author does not necessarily believe this matters, though, as he concludes that personal exposure to diverse communities is more important than forced societal integration.