Diversity

Wester's dictionary says that to divert is to turn away from or to change the set course of a burdensome activity. It also says that diversity is difference. Have you noticed that our natural instincts tell us to divert diversity. Why is that? We have many other natural instincts that are not always positive like selfishness and pride. These instincts can be used in good ways but they have to be skillfully taught and practiced. For example, if you divided up a preschool classroom on the first day and placed red shirts on half of them and white shirts on the other half and observed thier behavior you would find that most all the white shirted children played together, ate snacks together and wanted to take naps together. If this continued through out the year relationships would be formed from the color groups. If students were given a different colored shirt each day this would have a different effect. The students would develop relationships with each other not based on the color shirt they wore but on things they liked about each other or things they like to do together. Children may still desire to cling to those that have the same colored shirt as them but not all children would react this way, some would rather stay with the same group they were with on the first day.
What makes us want to shy away from people that are different? What makes us afraid of change?
Sometimes we need to repeat things to learn them but then we need to try new things, to learn new things and meet new people.
People that don't look like us or listen to the same kind of music that we listen to or dress differently than we do are all opportunities for us to learn something new. Why can't we accept diversity easily?