Re: What is diversity really? [Was What is co-housing really?]
From: balaji (balajiouraynet.com)
Date: Sat, 30 Aug 2008 15:00:42 -0700 (PDT)
It is much easier to create diversity in an American community because
everyone already believes that he or she is unique.  It is much harder to
create unity in a radically changing world in which the standard measures
of uniqueness -- race, income level, political orientation -- may count
for little or nothing.  Cohousing is a philosophy of unity in diversity
(however that term is construed) and its primary "mission," if I can put
it that way, is to articulate the dimensions of this philosophy and to
apply them practically.  It almost requires the invention of a new
language or set of vocabulary items.  I take that to be one of the
messages of Sharon Villine's felicitous neologism "sociocracy."  How
extraordinary, though, that we should have to invent such a term.  Just
goes to show . . . in a culture where individualism is known by many
terms, community can be described in only a few.

Best wishes,

Charles W. Nuckolls
Utah Valley Commons
www.utahvalleycommons.com


>
>
> On Aug 29, 2008, at 8:05 PM, Richard L Kohlhaas wrote:
>
>> Q.  What's an example of diversity at the Unitarian church?
>> A.  Three different colors of Subarus in the parking lot.
>
> One of the makers people believe indicates diversity is skin color.
> Another is income level (which can be achieved with little if any
> social diversity).
>
> But there are many other kinds of diversity -- the ones that are not
> visible.
>
> What about political diversity? Has anyone gone out and recruited a
> conservative Republican recently? An Army Colonel? In terms of
> personal growth and learning tolerance this would be much more of a
> challenge than dealing with wide income differences.
>
> What is the point of diversity?
>
> What is it? What are it's benefits?
>
> I'm not being critical of anything said, only raising the question. Do
> we know what the aims of "diversity" are? How we know if we have it or
> not? And if we did have it, what would the benefits be?
>
> Sharon
> ----
> Sharon Villines
> Sociocracy, a Deeper Democracy
> http://www.sociocracy.info
>
>
>
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