Home Is Where Diversity Can Thrive By Todd Greisen, CCAM
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Vision Winter 2021 | cacm.org
Among the early acts of Congress, in 1782, E pluribus unum was adopted as our national motto. Although in 1956, In God We Trust replaced it. “Out of many, one,” however, still remains on our U.S. national seal and on several of our coins to this day. Great waves of immigrants from many cultures, race, and of all ages have made America their home. They include the wealthy, the impoverished, and yes, even those who were indentured or slaves. Regardless of who, what, or where they come from, they all share a common ground – living within the shores and boundaries of this nation. This is one of many things that has made this country a highly desired place to live. In the context of our modern national motto, the second greatest commandment is to “love your neighbor,” according to ancient scripture. It’s a good rule to live by regardless of your belief system. And even if you can’t love your neighbor, our laws tell us to respect them without regard to skin color, age, social status, or other differences. Who is your neighbor? Everyone you come in contact with - period. A restaurant patron should treat the wait staff as an equal. In a company setting, a CEO should treat the receptionist no differently than fellow board members. Likewise, community boards and
management leaders should treat everyone equally and with respect, including their neighbors in the community. Managed communities often become modern microcosms of our national heritage, where a variety of ethnicities, cultures, and demographics are melded together. The very nature of an HOA or CID brings people physically closer together as a community, where commonality can or cannot be fostered. Author and speaker, Dania Santana, describes diversity well - as it relates to associations. “A successful community in which individuals of different race, ethnicity, religious beliefs, socioeconomic status, language, geographical origin, gender, and/or sexual orientation bring their different knowledge, background, experience, and interest for the benefit of their diverse community.” She continues – “As they all contribute to the success of the community, individuals in a healthy diverse society practice daily understanding and respect of the different ideas, viewpoints and unique perspectives of those who are somewhat different from them, as they recognize that those individuals share and are actively working towards achieving many common goals for the benefit of the community as a whole.”
