Pointe of Art

Diversity is the Key- 2/05
by Robert Maniscalco

I devote this months column to last month's editorial missive by Lorie Johnson, publisher of the Pointer Magazine in which she graciously invited readers to weigh in on whether "political correctness has gone too far ." Her "response" to Mr. Gellman's (a seventh grader at Liggett) thoughtful letter , in which she suggested that perhaps his "political correctness" was excessive, has invigorated Grosse Pointers, christian and non-christian alike, in a way that is truly inspiring and justified. Her use of the words "we" and "us" rather than "I" and "me" are most unfortnuate, as they implicate advertizers and contributing columnists to the Pointer (like me) as sharing her views (which I do not).

Furthermore, her use of the" royal we" seems to imply her views represent those of the entire community. Her reasoning that other publications targeted toward specific demographic audiences (namely, the Jewish News) don't give "our" holiday "equal time," therefore why should "we" give "them" equal time in "ours," is about as offensive as it gets. These sentiments echo the rallying cry of the insideous "old guard" of Grosse Pointe,whose fear and isolation have built an imaginary wall along the Mack Avenue and Alter Road borders, driving out diversity and ultimately driving down property values (see last month's "Pointe of Art"). At best this attitude is naive and provincial; at worst it is racist and chauvanistic.

These comments allude to an even larger national divide in which our political leaders are using religious fervor to pit "us" against "them" in order to widen their political mandate. Ms. Johnson's casual, if not flagrant, injection of religion and cultural bias into one of Grosse Pointe's major community outlets is irresponsible. I remember fondly the days when religion remained above the political and media fray. At the very least, we should expect sensitivity and balance from our local media. There are many in this community for whom the "old world Santa" image simply does not apply. The beautiful thing about cultural and religious diversity is the abundance of choices it promises, making the world a place where our differences are embraced and celebrated, not feared.

What does all this have to do with art, you may well ask? Well, I have found that historically, it is the artists who tend to lead the way on matters relating to our cultural diversity, holding a mirror to society. Perhaps that's the ultimate Pointe of Art.

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