As mentioned in the text, diversity is vital factor in our constantly developing society. Although we have diversity everywhere we look, valuing diversity does not come easy to every one. One reason for this is because often times people are scared of change and fear anyone and anything that does not fit into their personal lifestyle and way of thinking. Unfortunately this is quite apparent in the United States. For example, one area where there is lack of appreciation for diversity is in politics. During elections there is a lot of mudslinging and negative ideas pushed around about the candidates running for office as well as the democratic and republican parties. Two specific areas that come to mind where there is no valued diversity is the topics of gay marriage and immigration. Those opposed of gay marriage do not like the fact that two people of the same sex should have the same rights as heterosexual people, thus they are not valuing those people outside their own group. On the topic of immigration, those opposed often have negative feelings towards illegal immigrants and simply will not accept the idea of giving them a chance to become legal U.S citizens. Both of these examples also strongly tie into the section on stereotypes because our assumptions about others lead us to feel certain ways which in turn do not allow us to value diversity. As for ways to enhance a group's ability to value diversity, I think it is just a matter of getting to know one another on a more personal level. By understanding one's personal story, I think there's a better chance of accepting them instead of making assumptions and shoving them into a category. In high school my school decided to participate in a program called “Challenge Day”(exactly like the show on MTV “If You Really Knew Me”) and here students were required to get to know other students they had never really hung out with by telling each other very personal things about their lives. It was an eye-opening experience because a lot of the students felt closer to each other because they shared common problems and felt they had someone who knew what they were going through. Overall, I believe to truly understand and value diversity, we need to take the time to really get to know the lives that others live.
I really enjoyed your post. Especially the part about learning about your schoolmates that you may not usually associate with. I think it is important for children to understand each other. For example my niece is so in tune with her classmates she calls most foods at home by their Indian counterpart. I remember being apart of a program in elementary school that made pairs of kids from the fourth grade class and the special needs class, and these two were lunchtime buddies all year. This "Buddy Program" helped me to understand my classmates and that there are more people in the world than my small life, and that we are not all the same, but we deserve the same respect.
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