US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo criticized that multiculturalism is "not a form of the USA"

Recently CNN.co.jp reported the following:

ポンペオ米国務長官、多文化主義を非難　「米国の姿ではない」

2021.01.20 Wed posted at 19:00 JST

ワシントン（ＣＮＮ） 米国のポンペオ国務長官は１９日、公式のツイッターアカウントに投稿し、多文化主義に対する非難を展開した。このような思想は「米国本来の姿ではない」との認識を示した。

投稿の中でポンペオ氏は、政治的に覚醒して社会正義を実現しようとする「ウォークイズム（Ｗｏｋｅ―ｉｓｍ）」や多文化主義といった考え方を批判。「こういったあらゆる主義は米国本来の姿ではない。我々の輝かしい成り立ちをゆがめ、この国にとって何が最も大切なのかを見誤らせる。我々の敵がこうした分断をかき立てるのは、それによってこちらが弱体化するのを知っているからだ」と主張した。

ただポンペオ氏自身、様々な言説を駆使してまさにそうした分断をかき立ててきた過去がある。人種に基づく不正や警察の暴力に対する抗議行動が起きた際には、特定の人々への呼びかけで「不公正をただそうとする姿勢」を糾弾。米国の生活様式が「攻撃にさらされている」と訴えていた。

国務長官をあと１日で退任するポンペオ氏については、２０２４年の大統領選に出馬するとの見方が広がってもいる。

米国の価値観に「多文化主義」は含まれないとする今回の主張に対し、国務省内部からは直ちに批判の声が上がった。

外交官の１人は投稿内容を「良心に反する」と非難。別の外交官は、非白人や非キリスト教徒の外交官がこれを聞いたらどう感じるだろうかと問いかけた。

生え抜きの外交官であるコンラッド・トリブル氏はツイッターで、多文化主義こそ米国にとって最大の強みの１つと指摘し、「米国の多様性が持つ世界的なソフトパワーの威力はどれだけ誇張しても足りない」と述べた。

そのうえで「それを体現する取り組みを強化する必要がある。拒絶するのではなく」と付け加えた。

３０年間外交に従事し、アフリカ系米国人大使の団体の幹部も務めるチャールズ・レイ氏は、ポンペオ氏の発言に失望と不快感を表明しつつ、同氏の後任となるブリンケン次期国務長官の声明を引用。「外交官らがあらゆる多様性の中で米国を全面的に体現する存在となることを約束」していたことに言及した。

Translation

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo of Washington (CNN) posted on his official Twitter account yesterday, blaming multiculturalism. He perceived that such an idea was "not the original form of the United States."

In his post, Pompeo criticized ideas such as "Woke-ism" and multiculturalism, which sought to stay awaken politically and to achieve social justice. He asserted that "All these principles are not what America really is. It distorts our glorious origins and misunderstand what is most important to this country. It is this weakness that our enemies stir up the divides. Because of that I know it will turn us weak. "

However, Mr. Pompeo himself had a past that made full use of various discourses to stir up such a division. In the event of protests against racial fraud and police violence, he denounced the callings made by certain people as "attempting to justify injustice". He complained that the American lifestyle was "under attack."

There was widespread belief that Pompeo, who would retire from the Secretary of State the next day, might run for the 2024 presidential election.

In response to the claim that "multiculturalism" was not included in US values, immediately there was criticism among the US State Department.

One of the diplomats accused this post of being "contrary to the conscience." Another diplomat asked how non-white and non-Christian diplomats would feel when they heard this.

Conrad Tribble, a brilliant diplomat, pointed out on Twitter that multiculturalism was exactly one of America's greatest strengths and said that: "it is no exaggeration to talk about the influence of the diversity of soft power of the US in the world."

He further added that "we need to step up our efforts to embody it, not reject it."

Charles Ray, who had been working in diplomacy for 30 years and was also an executive of an African-American ambassador's group, expressed disappointment and discomfort at Pompeo's remarks and quoted a statement by his successor, Secretary of State Blinken who had once said that "the diplomats promised to be the full embodiment of the United States amidst its diversities."

               So,  Pompeo’s viewpoint on multiculturalism was not shared by some of the professional diplomats in the US. The beauty of the USA is that it can offer an environment for free expression of ideas, and that there are many channels and platforms for all to express their ideas, including those politicians from the far-right and the far-left.

Notes:

a. "Woke-ism" comes from the word “woke” which is a politically loaded term. It is originated in the United States and refers to a perceived awareness of issues concerning social justice and racial justice. It derives from the African-American vernacular English expression "stay woke" which refers to an ongoing awareness of some issues. First used in the 1940s, the term has become popular again in recent years as a concept that symbolizes perceived awareness of social issues and movements. By the late 2010s, “woke” had been adopted as a slang broadly associated with left-wing politics, social justice activism; and also social liberal issues such as anti-racism, LGBT rights, feminism and environmental matters. Terms such as woke culture, woke politics and woke left were also being used.

b. Charles Ray in his linkedin.com account introduces himself as “I have had extensive experience in leading troubled organizations. I also do writing, primarily on leadership. I served 20 years in the US Army as an intelligence, psychological operations, and special forces officer, and 30 years in the US Foreign Service, serving as a U.S. Ambassador to Cambodia and Zimbabwe. I was the first US Consul General in post-war Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) Vietnam.”