How common & shared identities

promote social cohesion

The earth is full of humans; humans from various nationalities, religions, ethnicities, races, caste, creed,
etc. Some like music, others like to read, some are football fans while others like to travel. There are all
sorts of communities for every person out there. So many ways for people to connect. These
communities or these things in common are what bring people closer together. How?

People of the same nation are united under their national flag like everyone in Pakistani is a Pakistani
and celebrates Independence Day with great zest and zeal. On the day of 14 August, no religion, race,
creed, or color comes in between to share the patriotic love for the green flag. Everyone stands united
and celebrates the day with much happiness and excitement! Every Hindu Pakistani, Christian Pakistani,
or Sikh Pakistani – all of them unite on this day under their common and shared identity of being a
Pakistani and spread the joy together. Pakistani who live in other countries also come together to
celebrate this day in their overseas communities. Do you see how only being a Pakistani brought all of
the same nationality together despite their religion cast or color? Isn’t it beautiful how this one common
identity erases all other single identities!

Similarly, people from the same religions like all Muslims in the world are united under their religion,
same goes for all other religions like Christianity or Hinduism. They might be living in other countries
other than their homeland but are still united under their religion. When it’s Eid, Christmas, or Diwali, all
Muslims, Christians, or Hindus come together from all around the world and celebrate their religious
festivities. The overseas citizens not only bring cultural diversity to the society but also spread the
message of unity for the ones away from home. This common and shared identity unites the whole
Muslim, Christian, or Hindu community – or any other religious community for that matter.

Let’s talk about some other shared and common identities. Music! The most common and shared
identity ever – despite various religions, nationalities, color, caste, creed, etc. music is the one thing that
has no boundaries and is cherished by everyone all over the globe. Artists collaborate from all around
the world creating soulful music for their fans thus uniting them and bringing them together across
borders. Some people love rock – all rock music lovers are united under the rock banner, people who
love country music, classical music, pop music, and all sorts of other genres. Every genre has its specific
type of listeners and they don’t know any national, religious, political, or racial borders. They are all
united under the common and shared love for music.

The same goes for work occupation, schools, universities, the similar skills we have and the list goes on!
We have so much more in common with others than we think we do. And the most common and shared
identity of them all is that we are all humans! And we are all united under the banner of humanity. Let’s
focus on being human and sharing love and peace for one another under this common and shared
identity. We are all made up of multiple identities and every single identity might not be common but
80% of our multiple identities are all shared and common with other people. When we have so much in
common with so many people, then why do we focus on differences and create barriers? Why not
united under our common and shared identities, come together, and spread positivity and peace?