The word “diversity” has become a bit of a political lightning rod in the last few years. It seems a bit silly to me. America is, has been, and always will be a melting pot. Many Americans, like myself, are ethnic mutts. I myself am a mixture of Irish, Norwegian, English, and French descent. Even those Americans who came over on the Mayflower arrived in a country teeming with varying indigenous tribes.
Until recently, the fact that diversity is an American strength was beyond question. In the foxholes of the great wars, for example, it didn’t matter where your ancestors came from or the shading of their skin; it mattered how committed you were to fighting for the cause of freedom.
Why do I step onto the delicate rice paper of “diversity”? I was recently reminded of the necessity of diversity in this great American experiment called democracy. I got called for jury duty. Please understand, I did everything I could to get out of serving as a juror. I successfully deferred the date I was asked to serve. But, eventually, I just surrendered to the fact that I’d have to serve. So I grumpily showed up to the Buncombe County courthouse, where I live. I’m glad I did.
Diversity and the Jurisprudence System
For those of you who haven’t been through the experience, you start as part of a large jury pool. Then they “seat” 12 potential jurors who get evaluated through questioning by both the prosecuting and defense attorneys. This particular case was for a person who was contesting his criminal drunk driving charge, which in North Carolina is a misdemeanor.
By basically interrogating each prospective juror, the attorneys are trying to assess whether the juror can be truly impartial. What struck me about the entire experience is how essential diversity is to the bedrock of our jurisprudence system. The jury pool was a true melting pot, both in terms of physical and ethnic diversity and in terms of diverse life experiences. Among others, there was a retired teacher, a construction worker, a delivery driver, a beer salesman, a bartender, and a number of nurses. Nearly all were asked if they ever saw a drunk driver swaying in front of them on the road, and whether they called the police when they did. Most had. Nearly all were also asked whether they had a positive experience with the police during those experiences, or not. The answers were diverse.
Decision Making
One man’s own father had once served jail time after his fourth time getting busted for drunk driving. This man was seated on the jury. Another woman’s brother had gotten pulled over for drunk driving, but, in her opinion, had been mistreated by the cops. She was not seated for the jury.
It took a full day and a half, but the jury eventually got seated. The good news for me was that the entire jury got seated before I ever had to be asked the interrogation questions. I’m glad I met my civic duty, though, because, by law, I won’t have to do jury duty again for at least two years. More than that, though, my confidence in the American judicial system has been strengthened through the recognition of how important diversity is to our wonderful mutt-filled country.
In a moment when diversity is so often debated, what experiences have reminded you of its quiet, indispensable power?
Image by Sang Hyun Cho from Pixabay
