Lesson in Diversity

"Human diversity makes tolerance more than a virtue; it makes it a requirement for survival."

- Rene DuBos

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Mac Anderson, founder of Simple Truths and Successories tells an inspiring, personal story about diversity. Mac vividly recalls his English final examination in the spring of 1968. Dr. Martin Luther King had been shot three weeks prior to the exam. Cognizant of the social unrest of the late 60's, the English professor chose the highly controversial subject of racial integration as the theme of exam. The students were instructed to write a paper on the merits of school integration. There were 30 students in Mac's class. 29 were white and 1 was black. The exam was scheduled for two hours. After only five minutes into the examination, the black student got up and handed his paper into the professor. Mac assumed the student left the class in protest. The class reassembled two days after the examination to receive their final grade. The professor reported that only one student had earned an A+, and because the paper was so well written, he wanted to read it to the class. The professor advised the class the paper was one sentence long and contained only 14 words.

The professor read, "It takes both the black and white keys to play the star spangled banner."

Mac Anderson recounts how the whole class was impressed by Robert, the young black student in the first row, who earned the only A+.

Diversity opens the world up to you. New people, places and things will enrich your life and give you a greater perspective about life. When you live your life from a limited perspective, you limit your opportunities.

Embrace new and different people everyday. We do we shy away from people that are different from us? Is it because we are afraid of them? I believe so. I don't believe the fear stems from the physical sense. Rather, the fear comes from the reality of comparison and analysis. The more we learn about others, the more we subject ourselves to comparing ourselves with others. If we always associate with the same people, we can always judge ourselves from the same standards. There is something safe in knowing "rules of the game." When we promote diverse experiences, we dare learn something about ourselves. We may learn that we are the different one. We may learn that we are more like "them" than we think. Or, just maybe, a diverse experience may subject us to the reality of our own flaws or weaknesses? If you're truly going to become the best that you possibly can become, you'll need to acknowledge your flaws and weaknesses. We all have them! Some are just better at recognizing them, accepting them and doing something about them more so than others. Whatever the reason your shying away from diverse experiences, get over it and start maximizing all the opportunities out there!

Since every human being is a unique person, make it a point to live by the Platinum Rule, "Treat others as they would like to be treated." If we can live by the Platinum Rule, things like race, religion, sex, age, and ethnicity should never matter. Diverse experiences mean diverse outcomes. Diverse outcomes leads to greater opportunities for growth, and, in return, a higher probability for happiness and success.

Have a MEMORABLE Monday!
It's your life; live it, love it & celebrate it!
MJD