The meaning of diversity?

This morning, I was perusing the news networks to find something to rant about, and I came across this article discussing the growing diversity of the Republican party. The first thing that struck me, though, was that the Republicans' "diversity" stems only from the color or nationality of the person you see on the ballot. And while racial diversity can bring a lot of richness to both a country and a party, why does a measure of "diversity" always stop there? If we're a truly color-blind society, why does race remain the one true measure of a diverse culture?

I have a problem with that idea of diversity: it ignores almost everything that actually makes a person who they are. The color of your skin is just one part of you...and sometimes, it doesn't even mean that much. Real diversity comes from including many different kinds of people, not kinds of skin color. The way we view the world is shaped by our childhood, and to a degree, genetics, and while race might play a part in that, it's playing less and less of one in a modern society (don't get me wrong, it's a good thing that race is no longer a reliable indicator of your background). But why are these indicators never discussed?

If a party (or university or church or any other group) wants to create true diversity within itself (and I could go on for ages about why that's a good thing), it needs to include people who are truly different: rich, poor, atheist, religious, scientific, literary, gay, straight, etc. In our society, it is those things, those true deterministic factors that make up who we really are, that creates the multifaceted jewel that is America.

The color of your skin doesn't make you different: what you hold in your heart and mind do.