A colleague leaves work because the previous night he drank a bottle of spirits by himself.  A friend tells me that on some weekends she doesn’t talk to a single person.  I occasionally wander around the city at night, the bright lights and bustle of the city all around me, feeling isolated amongst the humanity.

This theme of isolation and loneliness is expressed in How my neighbourhood was lost to the multiculture.  In the article the author talks about the area where he grew up in the sixties, and how he sees that same area now:

“I’m struck by the sense that this place no longer provides my identifiable roots, that now I am simply one of many who happen to live here, with no greater claim to it sentimentally or historically than the next man.”

I see similar sentiments (or the result of such sentiments) everywhere I look in modern society.  I see people searching for more out or life, people wanting a greater sense of connection and involvement.  I see people wandering through life in a malaise, not knowing where they belong or what their purpose in this world is.

Overseas trips are taken; restaurants are visited; the latest fad is taken up with enthusiasm.  They provide short relief from the desire for more meaning and a sense of belonging.

In our modern multicultural society, diversity and a constant need to celebrate differences adds to the isolation that many people feel.  Diversity is given precedence ahead of a sense of community and a sense of belonging.  It replaces a common culture that would otherwise act as a glue that binds us together.

Research carried out by Harvard political scientist Robert Putnam and published in his book Bowling Alone shows that in non-ethnically diverse areas 70-80% of people trust their neighbours a lot.  The figure is 30% in ethnically diverse areas.

It’s hard to see how one can feel part of a community where most people don’t have a lot of trust in each other.

His studies also show that in ethnically diverse areas people give less to charity, they volunteer less, have fewer close friends, and are less happy.

A recent University of Tasmania Study shows that loneliness is increasing in Australia, with one third of Australians in prime of life experiencing loneliness as a serious problem at times.  Our politicians are also aware of the increasing levels of loneliness in our society.  Lindsay Tanner described it by saying ‘There is a loneliness crisis out there.’

What is telling is that out of the 2,500 words that Lindsay Tanner gave on ‘The Loneliness Crisis’, not one of them mentioned diversity or multiculturalism as a factor in loneliness. Yet it seems difficult to see how the crisis of loneliness can be overcome when we are constantly told to take more of the medicine that is making us sick.

Better education and a greater understanding of the of the myriad problems that multiculturalism causes in communities is needed if politicians are going to start seeing multiculturalism as a policy that has cons as well as pros.

I do believe loneliness is a challenge that our society must face.  It’s often hidden and not talked about.  But it’s out there and it’s real.  And we should be looking at all the factors that are contributing to its increase.