Diversity Missing

Do you appreciate living in a country where people from all aspects of life can live side by side with tolerance and respect for their cultural differences? Do you even know your neighbors? What nationality are they? What religion are they? What do you have in common?

Sad to say I don't know my neighbor intimately enough to know this information about them. They are Caucasian and that's about all I can gather without probing into their personal spiritual life. Unfortunately the community I live in is not so big on the diversity thing. Which is unfortunate for me as I need that kind of diversity to feel well rounded.

I had to drop off my child at school the other morning, along with his 24 cupcakes for his birthday. 22 students in his class, a good variety of boys and girls but not so good a variety of ethnicity. I only live here because of this school...its the best. Walking down the busy hallways I did notice a better mix of Asian, Latino, Caucasian, south American, African American, and any others I might not be able to distinguish. I still didn't feel that my child would become educated with a diverse group of individuals. Does that really make this school the best or only rich enough that a small number of families can afford to live in the school district?

What religion are you?

I have been asked this question a half dozen times by people in my life whom are devoutly religious. Does there have to be a name to my religion? Can't I call it Sarah's wacky thought process of divinity and creation?

Now first and foremost I believe that each human on this earth has a divine right to believe whatever they want to believe. Some of us are raised to believe in something, some of us find it later in life, some never believe, and some are standing there with there arms raised and a puzzled look on their face.

How does culture play a role in this? Imagine growing up in a small village in some desolate poverty stricken place where religion is the basic function of everyday life. Now imagine that you have no other conscious choice as a child and young adult than to think traditionally and believe in this religion. By the time you are an adult, the religion is such a major part of your everyday life that to question it would send the world off its axis and spill you over the edge.

This process of ingrained religion is not at all to be dismissed as bad or considered unethical. This is life as thousands of people know it. It is their culture which for thousands of years has been based on this religion. It is why they exist on this earth.

You will never hear me say that one religion is righteous over another. There are just to many variances for me to consider one religion to be alpha. So I will believe in my own sort of religious context. I take a small amount from each religion. Religious texts are about interpretation...it should be about interpretation from the individual readers. For me this means I can find something enlightening in all depending on how I process the information.

If your reading this and are devoutly religious, before you start leaving huffy comments about why YOUR religion is THE religion, consider that most religions give people a freedom, a choice of belief. This is not to be ignored just because you feel I am damned to purgatory. There are good people are in all realms of religions. Embrace people, and their cultural differences, which includes their religion.

You met him online and he is from where?

Well duh! He lives in India and I live in New York, of course I met him online! How many of us, of varying age groups, chat online or use social networks everyday? I would guess it is a phenomenal number. As technology grows so does the ability for us to go places we never thought possible from the comfort of our own homes.

As I am typing this I have up Facebook, AIM and MSN live email which can all connect simultaneously if I so desired. I can be fully connected to my everything online from the use of a single application. What brilliance! What do I need all of this for some may wonder? Well I connect to family and friends back home, I connect with my university and classmates and I spend countless hours communicating with the guy I met online almost a year ago. Whoa, isn't that dangerous? Isn't that weird? Um' hello its the age of technology, wake up and get on the bandwagon.

If your not socially networking now or are a total noob at it, I suggest you invest a small amount of time checking it out. How else are you going to be able to watch cooking shows in Thailand, live news feeds from Tasmania, or meet fabulous people and fascinating cultures from far off places, like India.

It is no longer taboo to have an online social and even romantic life. The ability to fall in love with someone through a computer isn't crazy or absurd, it is very real. For me, it was unexpected and with whom I fell in love with was even more unexpected. When I say that the instant I saw him (his user handle) I was immediately drawn to him and had to say hello. He didn't have some catchy screen name or a profile full of garbage talk that makes girls melt. He was just a guy...from India who was browsing the same chat room I was.

Here I am, its been months of this long distance romance, I'm still very much in love, and that grows every day. The communication is very strong and I believe this allows us to talk very openly to each other. There is no room for anything but adoration between him and I and yes for now it is done all online!