MANY OF US interact daily with friends, co-workers—even family members—from cultures, ethnic groups, and races other than our own. There's a richness in this variety, and it can bring together the best of different backgrounds. Certainly we have a long way to go, but simply by getting to know each other as individuals, racial and cultural barriers are beginning to fade.
With this progress, however, there are new challenges. For instance, a survey done by The Society for Human Resource Management found that 61 percent of companies in the United States say that their work force is so diverse now that they can no longer ignore the conflicts that are directly associated with such diversity. The survey also found that people are often angrier after diversity training sessions than they were before.
Why can't each of us just express good qualities and have this commonality bring us into harmony with each other? Because one's culture, his or her life experience, factors into what is considered to be good. What is completely reasonable to one way of thinking might not make any sense at all to someone from a different background. For instance, one culture might place particular emphasis on self-reliance, while another might not see this as a virtue, but would instead treasure cooperation.
