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By Joan Gordon
Racial, cultural, religious - living with
and understanding diversity is, to me, the ultimate experience.
I'm an "old-timer" - I remember seeing the Japanese Americans incarcerated
in "internment" camps in the 40's. As an 8 year old child at the
time, I asked my mother why they were locked up. My mother said
because we were at war with Japan. My response was, "But we're German,
and we are at war with Germany, but we are not locked up." As an
adult, I've had friends who were the children amongst those Japanese
American who were interned.
Diversity in my life has so enriched it.
I was raised in a little country town in South dakota where perspectives
were as narrow as the extent of the travels of the people. Just
meet someone in an area who has never been more than 50 miles from
home - yes, they still exist, and their perspective is that narrow.
I was military, married some 40 years ago,
when even the military did everything possible to dissuade interracial
relationships - and not necessarily gently. But, through it all,
it is I who has benefited the most. My friends from all over the
world have shared their cultures and religions with me, and it is
I who am richer for it.
My adult children are, as are most bi-
or multiracial individuals, comfortable in any ethnic setting. They
know that they are a part of the different cultures and have an
appreciation and an understanding that is deeply ingrained. 
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