The Joys of Diversity
Earlier in the week I spent a few days in northern New Jersey where we had a graveside service for my father-in-law. We were just a few miles west of the Lincoln Tunnel and had a good time visiting Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. It was, surprisingly, my wife's first time to the Statue even though she grew up in northern New Jersey.

Anyway, I had to go to the local Barnes and Noble store to get on the Internet. Our motel was having some problems with their WiFi and I have this addiction to a daily dose of blogging and surfing and Jamble on It's Your Turn. As I sat there I was amazed and comforted to see the wonderful wide diversity of people. Languages, colors, styles walking around looking at books, drinking coffee. There were interracial couples, and ethnically diverse groups of students studying.

It became even more pronounced when we did our sightseeing at Ellis and the Statue. There were so many different languages it was almost a chorus of world cultures. Very appropriate at those places.

I have always loved places of diversity like that. I'm not saying that Minneapolis isn't diverse. It is amazingly so for a city in the northern middle of the country. We even found pictures at Ellis Island from Minnesota and Wisconsin which I will probably comment on at a later time.

But diversity challenges me to look at myself in a different way. It makes me remember that I too am part of that diversity. It is, I believe, one of the potentially greatest strengths of the United States. I only pray that we can continue to keep our nation one wonderful ethnic and cultural stew, from sea to shining sea.