Undressing "Diversity" On The Borderline

Sometimes it is important to step back, take a deep breath, relax and take stock of the beautiful St. Croix river valley. With the passage of time, life changes. People grow. Seasons come and go. Flowers bloom and fade. A beautiful sunrise greets you in the morning, as you slip on your shoe and realize there's a cricket in it. Sometimes you win and sometimes you knock over the chess board when you realize your going to get check-mated again. There's an ebb and flow to life that we all experience. Change brings diversity. Diversity brings challenges. Challenges can bring strength and wisdom or ignorance and revenge.

With this in mind, I asked some of the participants on this blog to submit a favorite quote on diversity. Along with these quotes, I found some recent quotes on diversity over at the ontheborderline.net blog site. So in the spirit of diversity, I put the following post together to give you a feel of the where the light shines in the St. Croix Valley and where the darkness pools...

From Above The Borderline:

Maya Angelou said:
“We all should know that diversity makes for a rich tapestry, and we must understand that all the threads of the tapestry are equal in value no matter what their color.”

Michel de Montaigne said:
“There never were in the world two opinions alike, no more than two hairs or two grains; the most universal quality is diversity.”

John Fitzgerald Kennedy said:
“If we cannot now end our differences, at least we can help make the world safe for diversity.”

American Proverb
"Variety is the spice of life.”

Dratsum said:
"Spice is the indigestion of life."

Robert Bateman said:
I am a possibilist. I believe that humanity is master of its own fate... Before we can change direction, we have to question many of the assumptions underlying our current philosophy. Assumptions like bigger is better; you can't stop progress; no speed is too fast; globalization is good. Then we have to replace them with some different assumptions: small is beautiful; roots and traditions are worth preserving; variety is the spice of life; the only work worth doing is meaningful work; biodiversity is the necessary pre-condition for human survival.”

Jane Austen said:
“Well! Evil to some is always good to others.”
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From On The Borderline:

BobZiller Says:
August 30th, 2006 at 1:10 pm
Now we see that by fiddling with words we can fit a definition to the word diversity. Who selected the attributes of skin, intellect, talent and years to ignore when valuing each other? Muslims might like it because religion is not mentioned for “valuing” others. And what’s wrong with “valuing” someone for intellect?
I’m sick of diversity. I learned in parochial school to respect and treat with dignity every human being because they were made in the image of God. Cut the diversity stuff.

bildanielson Says:
August 30th, 2006 at 1:18 pm
Rock on z. It sure caught my attention. My question here is what is implied by “valuing each other.” Does this mean to value equally or un-equally? If not equally, then how and under what moral and ethical system?
To ignore our differences is to ignore our minds and uniqueness as rational humans.

I agree, cut out the diversity stuff - it is bull as in bull, sh!# as in sh!#, and merely perpetuates racism and promotes balkanization.

Chris Says:
August 30th, 2006 at 2:23 pm
I practiced diversity today. I had a piece of pizza that had no meat on it. I embraced vegetarians. That’s as far as I’ll go.

cub Says:
August 30th, 2006 at 3:07 pm
This is how I Celebrate Diversity. You can get those on a T-Shirt at ThoseShirts.com

(Please note: cub, of course, is referring to the picture with the guns.)