"Perspectives on Diversity and Culture”

When speaking with some family members, friends, and associates; I found that they had very similar ideas and thoughts of the meanings of culture and diversity…

One of my relatives defined culture as:  feelings and behaviors of a certain group of people based on their environment.  For example:  same people, different due to their environment, therefore, environment defines their culture.  Her definition of diversity is:  it relates to difference, a variety.  For example:  a distinct difference in the types of music choices on her phone (Marvin Gaye, Smashing Pumpkins, Kendrick LaMar, and Beyonce’).  There is no rhyme or reason for diversity; just a personal choice.

Another associate defined culture as:  who we are as a person.  The definition that was given for diversity was:  how acclimated and excepting you are to other cultures that you have experienced.  Experience is key in diversity.

My neighbors added that culture is what we experience everyday in our neighborhood.  She was one of the original builders in our neighborhood and she has seen people come and go.  The neighborhood is currently filled with families of many different ethnic backgrounds; whereas, originally our neighborhood consist of middle-to-upper class Caucasian families.  They believe that since they have successfully survived the changes; then that makes them more diverse.

The aspects of culture and diversity that they described and that we have discussed in this course, include:  environment, personal choices (i.e. music), everything about ourselves, our neighborhoods, ethnicity (race), and our families.  Some of the aspects that were not discussed, more specifically, include:  language, religion, age, gender, beliefs, values, traditions, and foods.

As I spoke with others about their definitions of culture and diversity, I realized how simple the definition truly is and how complex we make it out to be.  If we could simplify our own personal ideas about culture and diversity; I wonder would it make it easier to accept and more doable.  Understanding that one’s culture is EVERYTHING about that person and learning to accept that for just what it is each and every time will determine how diverse you can be.