Culture
and Diversity Defined
Definition of culture and diversity by O. T.:
Culture: “I think
culture is something related to family and country. It’s the community(ies) we
interact with on a daily basis and throughout life. Culture includes what we
eat, what/how we speak, who/how we worship, how we work, how we spend our free
time, etc. I often hear people say that the US has no culture, but I completely
disagree. I grew up with two cultures. My parents are from Mexico, so I grew up
speaking Spanish, eating traditional meals, going to Catholic school, going to
church every Sunday, and spending most of my time with family instead of
friends. It was very obvious to me that my world outside of home was a
completely different culture. American culture is baseball and apple pie;
burgers, hot dogs, steaks, potato salad, watermelon, ice cream sundaes; cowboys
and Indians; Davy Crocket, National Parks, and the great outdoors; music—home
of the blues, rap, and country western; ball caps and cowboy hats; we love our
sports, tailgating, cars, guns, and TV; and, although imperfectly, we promote
hard work, opportunity, freedom, and justice for all.”
Diversity: “Diversity is variety, health, and engagement.
Diversity seems to be associated with race and ethnicity, these days, but I think
diversity includes more than that. It seems to be a topic that often comes up
at work. Do we have a diverse workforce or do we all look alike; is it mostly
white miles? So race and ethnicity are obvious factors to the diversity
definition. I would say that diversity also includes male and female, a span of
age groups/generations, various experience levels, veterans and new recruits,
different backgrounds and locations (east/west/north/south, urban/rural,
military/civilian), personalities (introverts/extroverts, jocks/intellectuals,
outdoorsy/techy), economies (rich/poor), gay/straight, religious/atheist, etc.”
“I look at nature. Diverse ecosystems with a variety of
species, age classes, and interactions are typically the healthiest.
Monocultures and less diverse ecosystems/species populations are often more
fragile or are indications of poor health resulting from some impact/disruption
to their community. So I would argue that diversity is a good thing that
maximizes our potential; that we are healthiest and operate at our best when we
are diverse and appreciative of our differences.”
Conversation with K. T.:
“Diversity births inclusion/growth through
understanding, not exclusion and often is the strength that adds value to any
situation 'when/if' given the opportunity. Culture is often viewed as
foundational and usually difficult to understand because it's more likely a
person's or organization's truth.”
“ ...I guess I've become somewhat numb to it because
in my experiences it's never changed and once I realized that it's better to
influence my arena than being influenced, I'm not as shocked but there are a
lot of factors that prepared me along the way, I think.” “Youth sports is
the still the most powerful vehicle where kids experience cultural diversity
without even knowing they're going through the course because it just doesn't
matter...it's taught consciously and sub-consciously. ...most people are so caught up with where
they are from, what rural/hood they belong to, a status of rich/poor on and on
and on. It's nauseating. ...My boys are
28/24 and it's comforting to know that they understand you don't put out fires
with fire! Keep impacting your tribe because I believe that is where the true
impact takes place.”
On our discussion about character: “...funny
how MLK said the 'CONTENT OF MY CHARACTER' but all sides rarely if ever have
started there to bridge the gap...”
He then joked with me about me running in 2020 and I
replied Trump would want to see my birth certificate. (I was born in Africa). His
reply, “I’m dead”.
