THE DIVERSITY CREED
By Gene Griessman © 1993
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I believe that diversity is a part of the natural order of things—as natural as the trillion shapes and shades of the flowers of spring or the leaves of autumn. I believe that diversity brings new solutions to an ever-changing environment, and that sameness is not only uninteresting but limiting.

To deny diversity is to deny life—with all its richness and manifold opportunities. Thus, I affirm my citizenship in a world of diversity, and with it the responsibility to….

• Be tolerant. Live and let live. Understand that those who cause no harm should not be feared, ridiculed, or harmed—even if they are different.
• Look for the best in others.
• Be just in my dealings with poor and rich, weak and strong, and whenever possible to defend the young, the old, the frail, the defenseless.
• Avoid needless conflicts and diversions, but be always willing to change for the better that which can be changed.
• Seek knowledge in order to know what can be changed, as well as what cannot be changed.
• Forge alliances with others who love liberty and justice.
• Be kind, remembering how fragile the human spirit is.
• Live the examined life, subjecting my motives and actions to the scrutiny of mind and heart so to rise above prejudice and hatred.
• Care. Be generous in thought, word, and purse.