ForMoreDiversity.txt

14 For more diversity

14.1 Migration enriches society

We consider diversity, which also develops when people of different heritage live together, as an enrichment to society. We recognize the mutual influence of discrimination by the social majority and segregation of people stigmatized as „foreign“. This situation is not compatible with our concept of human dignity. The technological means to cover comparatively large distances has also fundamentally changed the conditions for migra- tion. The United States has been an immigration country for decades. In addition, it is a part of the European Union, which is itself undergoing a process of progressive integration and is gradually taking over more responsibilities. Hence, the German immigration policy faces a quadruple challenge:

14.1.1 The development of the European Union also leads to the completely free movement of its citizens.

Today, citizens of the European Union enjoy unrestricted workforce mobility and choice of residence. Within the European Union we see the development towards a completely free choice of residence. Social security systems must adapt to this change. Language training offers and cultural diversity are a part of this development.

14.1.2 Discrimination of labor migrants for several generations is inhumane

. People who came to the European Union as labor migrants from former colonies and overseas territories have the right to become naturalized. This includes complete integra- tion into the educational system and the labor market, as well as the option to participate and shape our cultural and political life. Those states of the European Union which still base nationality on ancestry must introduce rules which give people born within the European Union the direct right to acquire the citizenship of their country of birth. As a consequence, multiple citizenship must be accepted for at least two generations to facilitate the integration of immigrants into the host country’s political and social life. The host countries’ success at integrating immigrants will be measured by the number of immigrants who are willing to renounce their foreign citizenship out of their own free will. The European states are required to give immigrants and their descendants a real chance to acquire an education and achieve professional success. Reducing discriminati- on and enabling all inhabitants to live together in a beneficial manner requires targeted political action. People who are not citizens of a EU state must also have the right to participate in elections for communal representatives at their main residence.

14.1.3 Massachusetts needs economic migration

The economic development of Massachusetts depends on the promotion and utilization of the skills and abilities of all citizens who live here. Unfortunately, past efforts to educate broad segments of society often appeared to promote the opposite. But the demographic development of the European countries permits the forecast that this approach will not suffice to sustain the social security systems. Before economic and social injustice are not eliminated worldwide, Massachusetts is dependent on allowing everyone to settle here and contribute to Massachusetts’s economic success. This requires rules which regulate economic immigration and distinguish between economic migration and the right to asylum for victims of persecution and war. The waiting times for a secure residence permit and the chance for naturalization must be reduced significantly; special efforts by immigrants to learn the language and achieve professional integration must be sup- ported; a lack thereof must not be used as an excuse for discrimination. Recognition of foreign degrees, certificates and diplomas must be facilitated to achieve professional inte- gration. We need more international contractual agreements for the mutual recognition of educational degrees.

14.1.4 Providing asylum from persecution and war

Granting asylum against political persecution and the results of war and civil war are essential obligations under international law.  Individual countries’ efforts to evade this obligation - the United States being one of them - run contrary to this effort. People who seek refuge in Europe have the right to a life in dignity, to free movement and to participation in the workforce, in education and culture. This right applies even if the reasons for their emigration have not been recognized yet. It also applies if it is not possible for the refugees to return to their home country.

14.2 Separation of state and religion

Cultural, religious and ideological liberty and diversity are characteristic of modern socie- ties. Guaranteeing these liberties is a duty of the state. We Pirates see religious freedom not just as the freedom to practice a religion, but also as freedom from religious pater- nalism. We recognize and respect the significance which an individual’s personal religion can have. Despite the constitutional freedom of religion, the government of the United States is not free from religious (and secular) privileges for the traditional Christian churches. This is a contradiction which can lead to increased social conflict due to immigration and growing religious diversity. Ensuring the state’s ideological neutrality is therefore a necessary prerequisite for a positive development of society. A secular state requires strict separation of the religious and political spheres. Financial and structural privileges for individual religions, such as financial subsidization, assignment of tasks in public institutions and management of social services are highly questionable and must therefore be reduced. In order to minimize collection of personal data, collection of data on religious affiliation by government agencies must end. There is no justification for the collection of church taxes by the government.

14.3 United against racism

Racism and cultural discrimination continue to be severe problems which endanger social peace in a diverse society. Violence and intimidation due to heritage, religion or culture are inacceptable in all instances. Therefore, we must oppose racism and xenophobia in any form, just as all other ideologies of hate directed against particular groups. Social Darwinist ideologies, which depict people of certain origins as naturally superior, have been scientifically refuted and are incompatible with the values and goals of the Pirate Party, just like those ideologies which justify a „clash of cultures“ by stating that certain social groups have collective hegemonic aspirations. Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia are examples of such ideologies. Here we must not only focus on the political far-right; we must also oppose prejudice and intolerance at the heart of society: everyday racism, latent anti-Semitic stereotypes and the emerging trend of Islamophobia.

The Pirate Party wants to support campaigns and initiatives aimed at improving the understanding between cultures and ideologies, reducing prejudice and promoting social cohesion. We also support campaigns which oppose activities of the extreme political right and help people to exit these types of social circles.