My wife and I are moving, or we are moved without a home. Basically, the clutter of our lives is mainly stuffed neatly in Public Storage and we are staying with a friend, while seriously questioning a move from California to Georgia. We have been talking obsessively about qualities of a community where we hope to live. Diversity has ranked high on my list until last night.
I was sitting at an airport food court around a standard fair of choices largely defined by ethnic flavor - tacos, stir-fry, pasta, burgers. I found myself peeling away my thoughts and finding a back-handed bigot. My ideas about diversity were about as authentic as my chow mein. Living "around" diversity is about me. No doubt, there is something incredibly cool about enjoying my Panda-bowl at a table next to an Indian couple, who happen to be eating a Sbarro's pizza.
Confession: I am a consumer. And I approach diversity as a consumer. I like being around people that look and act differently than me. I like listening to other languages being spoken around me, even though I'd rather have English spoken to me. I'm a consumer. I like a cultural buffet, picking my favorites and enjoying small leaps of exploration, all with questionable authenticity.
Diversity made our list and tolerance did not. We managed to leave off looking for a community that has a history of respecting people with various ethnic, socio-economic, cultural, religious, political, gender, age or abilities differences. Maybe that is what we meant by listing "diversity" as a must have. Sitting at the food court I feel disappointed and convicted.
Tolerance, dignity, mutual respect and liberty are difficult actions and ideals to make commodities. Diversity,on the other hand, we can consume. In the best case, diversity is a byproduct of dignity and respect for God creating us equal - life giving, heart changing standards. Yet, alone as a value, diversity becomes just another way that people are viewed as a commodity - a color, shape, look - for consumption.
