Imagine a world where conformity is the rule and difference is considered the one unpardonable sin. Everyone would have the same mind-set and life would roll along far more efficiently.

We would get used to the bland stagnation of existence as soon as we emerged from the womb. There would be no surprises. Passion would be unknown, but at least the trains would run on time.

Our overwhelming boredom would be the cost of being just exactly like everyone else -- no better, no less. We would be obliged to follow blueprints for doing things the way they've always been done.

DIVERSITY MATTERS
A Special Report

Exploring efforts to build a culture of inclusion that reflects our community.

• Strengthening diversity adds multiple perspectives to corporate issues
• Experience guides diversity officer's efforts to go beyond traditional programs
• City's outreach efforts build for the future
• Multicultural Arts Initiative's new director broadens perspectives
• Commentary: Benefits of diversity outweigh the fears it evokes
• Understanding is key to marketing to different demographics
• Bridging generation gaps brings more folks into the fold
• State forced to confront growing Latino population
• White men are often missing from discussions about diversity (with video)
• Commentary: Companies benefit by developing more inclusive work environments

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In a world without difference, the human soul would not be expected to thrive. The best thing that could be said about such a world is that the check book always balances at the end of the month.

Imagine a world much like the one above, but with intermittent expressions of difference. Conformity is still the rule, but some diversity is tolerated as long as it stays on the fringes where it doesn't threaten the public order.

Though we're suspicious of difference, we're vaguely attracted to it because it breaks with the officially sanctioned monotony of our lives. It is sweetly aromatic where the smell of burned plastic dominates.

Huddled in dull cul-de-sacs, we keep an eye on those who aren't afraid of differences in color, religion, sexual orientation, gender, handicap or culture.

Anyone who can say "no" to the conformity that binds the rest of us to the social order is both a wonder and a potential threat. We admire and fear their audacity.

Those with difference make us uncomfortable, but we suspect we can't live without them in our world. If only we could take what was special about them and spread it throughout the population. Wouldn't it be special if everyone felt special for a moment?

If everyone had a piece of it, we would see that uniqueness is no big deal. Then we could settle into our lives of conformity again with no regrets.

Now, imagine a world where difference is celebrated because it fulfills a vital part of our existence. Conformity is still around, but it is only one of many roads an individual could walk down in the pursuit of happiness.

Imagine a place where ideas flow freely in communities and workplaces without rancor or suspicion. Imagine a place where differences between citizens is considered unremarkable as long as everyone brings something to the table.

Think of the innovations that would result from living in communities where all ideas are welcome and everyone has a license to participate in building the future.

Is it possible to live in such a world and not be inspired to create art that matters? How would it be possible to dream in that world, but not dream in color?

The upside of diversity is that it awakens the potential of the human spirit. There is no downside to recognizing the uniqueness of others and encouraging individual flowers to bloom.

Diversity is not a threat to quality -- it enhances it. It also expands a community's imagination by building intellectual and spiritual flexibility into society's collective brain trust.

Given the social benefits that come from diversity, it is astonishing that so many well-meaning people consider it a threat to everything they hold dear.

Diverse neighborhoods are considered threatening because many assume that property values will go down if the neighborhood doesn't consist exclusively of people from the same economic and racial background.

Diverse workplaces are considered threatening because it is assumed that someone from the dominant group must have been passed over to benefit an "undeserving minority."

Diverse opinions are threatening because they directly challenge the way things have always been done.

The lack of diversity is never seen as a problem by institutions, businesses and communities that don't know what they're missing.

If we're only in our comfort zone when everyone is of the same class, the same racial and religious background, the same politics and the same sexual disposition, we're closer to extinction than we ever imagined.

Imagine a world where everyone takes diversity and difference for granted. What a wonderful world it would be.