Accepting diVeRSiTy

In one form or another, whether on a minor level or a more sinister and larger scale, we tend to look for people who have a lot in common with ourselves and avoid those who are different. One manifestation of this tendency is a social group. Often, a social group consists of members who all have common ground—either they have similar likes, dislikes and beliefs, or they have one common goal among themselves. Although these are not negative things in themselves, getting rigidly used to being around people who are similar to yourself runs the risk of not adapting to others. We are in a playground called life. We are bound to come across many different types of people. Most likely than not, we will have to mingle and work with people who are totally different to ourselves, who may well be on the far opposite end of the personality spectrum. For a practical reason, at the very least, we should have an open mind toward other personalities because we have to live and work with them throughout life.

Despite the usefulness of working with others, there are some dark-hearted people who totally avoid different people even if they are told to work with them by seniors. This would mean they have a common goal, such as in a project. However, some people’s hate goes deep that they reject all togetherness and cooperation with others who are different from themselves in terms of education, interests, socioeconomic status, race, religion or language. But why do that?! Mixing with different people helps us learn! Being around different people is not merely a superficially social process, it is an intellectual one. By mingling with various personalities, we learn from them. There is always something a person has that they can teach someone else, and there is always something a person has to learn from someone else. There are positive and negative elements in each person. The process of socialization helps us realize the positive and negative in ourselves and others. It is a give and take trade.

Besides those practical and intellectual reasons, there is a much more significant one. To comprehend this, we need to first understand the long-term vision of influential historical characters. A lot of the great minds conceived and cultivated a mentality of a global family. This notion of every creature of nature is the same in the eyes of the universe is not just a notion, but a reality—and this is what those great minds lived for. They made relentless efforts so that the masses of people can unite under one thought. The thought is simple—love one another. If we take out the time to think with a calm mind about how this vision can be fulfilled, about how people can become united, we realize that there is a simple way forward. The name of this solution is family. If we see a stranger take a tumble and fall across the road, we might not necessarily run over to help them. On the other hand, if we were to see a family member in he same scenario, we are much more likely, if not certain, to rush over and make sure they are alright. In the same vein of explanation, a global family can only be established when people the world over think of others not as strangers, but as family. It seems a difficult thing, but nothing that is progressive and worth achieving is easy.

Mixing with a variety of personalities and learning to accept others despite their background is one small step closer to this grand goal. In a family, we accept everyone as they are because at the end of the day, they are our own. Their character might be favourable to some and unfavourable to others. Their personality might be dramatically different to our own. However, in a time of crisis or conflict with perceived outsiders, we stand by them regardless of any arguments we may have had with them. This is what a family is. It is acceptance. Similarly, when we accept others and learn to live with them, either on a conscious level or unconscious, we become closer to them.

In the end, one cannot go wrong with a famous quote, so here:

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.”—MLK Jr.

Happy loving.