David Blunkett Quotes

Society is unity in diversity.

This country isn't a melting pot. Think of this country as a stir fry. That's what this country should be. A place where people are appreciated for who they are.

Terror will crash down on us if we fail to understand that a pluralistic society requires the personal and daily commitment of every citizen.

Communities need to feel that they can accommodate people. Rather than feeling that it's not possible to integrate and that the stress and strain on housing and public services is too great.

From the newest arrivals to our Native American brothers and sisters, we are one America.

We don't see ourselves as just a place where we come to worship but as a beacon and a bearer of the culture and a bearer of what makes us a people. But I like to say that this is not necessarily unique to us. It is really what America is all about.

Diversity is about all of us, and about us having to figure out how to walk through this world together.

We are a unique country — multi-cultural, multi-ethnic and multi-religious. Therefore, out of necessity, we need to moderate our positions. There is no harm in seeking solidarity of one's race but we must accept the basic truth that each one of us needs to communicate peacefully across the racial divide for the betterment of one's community.

Citizenship in a diverse society means living with our deepest differences and committing ourselves to work for public policies that are in the best interest of all individuals, families, communities and our nation.

Those who stay in America should be open to society without melting.

We honor cultural identity, but separatism is not allowed.

Assimilation was never the goal of the diverse ethnic groups in America. Inclusion without discomfort is now, and ever will be, the goal.

This is a country where Jews and Arabs speak without fear. Where people come from different cultures the world over. Where everyone becomes Brazilian rapidly.

Diversity does not preclude political stability.

We do not let slip from our understanding that America was founded on a bonding of many people, from many places and of various color and religion.

We are a pluralistic Nation composed of very distinct groups, each bound together by ethnicity, race, or religion - each group proud of its identity and committed to its faith and traditions. Yet despite these differences, we can be bound together into a broader community.

In a pluralistic society like ours, I think the ability to resist hate comes from cultivating a civil society that, on the one hand, nurtures the freedom of each group to pursue their faith and distinctive way of life, while, at the same time, fostering the ties that bind us together into a genuine broader community.

Everyone needs to understand that we were meant to live together in this country. We have to get to know one another; even if we don't agree, we have to enable each side to express itself.

In boxing we're allowed to come togethwe. Protestants and Catholics, the north and south, everyone. I'm in an Irish vest, even on a mural in Tiger's Bay, because boxing brings the communities together.

Multiculturalism is a bed of beautiful roses that has some thorns, so we just have to be careful not to get pricked or to prick one another.

If a film promotes communal harmony, which for me is beyond religion, I am happy to work on it because the film's premise is in line with my beliefs.

We are, by many measures, one of the more diverse cities in the country, growing more diverse all the time, and one of the more harmonious in terms of how we live together.

I want our students to be so accustomed to children of other cultures that the words 'diversity' and 'tolerance' won't be in their vocabulary. They won't need them - they'll live it.

We don't need a melting pot in this country, folks. We need a salad bowl. In a salad bowl, you put in the different things. You want the vegetables - the lettuce, the cucumbers, the onions, the green peppers - to maintain their identity. You appreciate differences.

While we may be of different faiths, we have a strong sense of faith, family, community. We hold the values of freedom and human rights very high and I think that those are all a part of a very strong quilt that binds us together.