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Originally Posted by Sion
why?
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Well, because obviously we are not all the same. Obviously, we were never meant to be the same. Obviously, we will never be the same. Therefore, I think it is a legitimate challenge for us to attempt to live with and appreciate these differences. To accept them, while also realizing our intrinsic similarities. To purport that we should ignore them - pretend to not see them - seems both unrealistic and misses the point.
Are there no people you are differentiated from? Is there no group or identity that you are proud to be a part of?
Why are there so many different sects to the major religions? Why don't they all just forget their differences and go to the same churches, worship in the same way, be the same?
Why do gay men and women want to embrace their diverse sexual identity?
Why do north-easterners differentiate themselves from mid-westerners?
Also, if the idea is to suppress racial or cultural diversity, what is the default culture? What are we supposed to be like? What is the status quo for such an endeavor? I mean, there has to be a point where we are coming from. From which to base who is being 'diverse' and who isn't.
Diversity, people being different - coming from different places, living differently, eating differently, listening to different music, playing different games, speaking different languages, wearing different clothes, different religions, different codes of behavior, different outlooks on life, different memories, etc., etc., etc. These things are never going to change, therefore it seems unimaginable to me that we should all ignore that they exist or worse, hate each other for them. It's one of the greatest challenges that has faced mankind from the very beginning of recorded history and we still haven't just
gotten it, yet. I believe we are supposed to appreciate both our similarities and differences simultaneously without feeling stifled by one and threatened by the other. I think we are able to do this, to a large extent, on an individual basis. But when it comes to talking about 'the big picture' we lose focus on just how simple it is.