Heroes Not Zombies

I’m a big fan of diversity. It’s a fundamental characteristic of healthy Nature. In fact, as David Attenborough points out in his excellent « A Life on Our Planet » biodiversity loss is one of the greatest threats to the existence of our species.

Monocultures in agriculture are unsustainable, requiring ever increasing chemical inputs as the soil becomes exhausted.

Monopolies damage markets.

A team of people who all think exactly the same way loses the ability to adapt and innovate.

Healthy communities are diverse ones if integration is held as important (integration being the creation of mutually beneficial bonds between well differentiated parts). We thrive together as we bring to the table our different perspectives and ways of thinking, with a desire to produce the greatest wellbeing for everyone.

Democracy is a great idea if it allows diverse communities within a society to connect, to compromise and to collaborate. On the other hand, autocracies tend to impose one view, one set of values, and one way of thinking on all the others…..something which fosters conflict and, ultimately, leads to the whole system falling apart.

Diversity, as the photo above shows, is beautiful.

So, I don’t think of how to « tolerate » different views, opinions and ideas. I think how to integrate them. I don’t know how else to grow or flourish, let alone, survive.