“Strange, isn’t it? Each man’s life touches so many other lives. When he isn’t around he leaves an awful hole, doesn’t he?”

(Clarence Oddbody, It’s a Wonderful Life)

When I was a girl, my father went through some rebellious phase against government and decided that we would buy unpastuerized (raw) milk that had the cream on top (unhomogenized). Thankfully, it was very clean milk. Recently several families in our state were sickened by drinking raw milk by e-coli bacteria that were particularly harmful. I’ve always loved the memories of that unmixed (unhomogenized) milk with the cream floating on top and wonder why it is never sold that way anymore even in a pasteurized state. We often use the expression of cream rising to the top, but today’ children in America never get to actually see this example in real life. Even if it was sold with the cream on top, nobody would be able to see it in paperboard containers.

People groups are often described as being homogeneous, but that is rarely the case. It’s next to impossible to find a group of people who are alike by geography, culture, race, and religion. I like that we are all different with cream rising to the top no matter how much wars, quakes, tragedies and hatefulness try to shake us all up into groups of sameness.

Right after the events of 9/11/2001, people in the media spoke about Americans coming together as one homogenous group in our grief at the act of terror. Even in that time, we were truly not homogenous and while there were parts of our government saying that we were all the same and wanted the same answer of justice for those actions—retaliation, vengeance, war, aggression, and violence, there were and still are many of us who separated ourselves and called for thoughtful reflection on those plans, for peaceful actions, for justice, and to treat people groups with respect even if (big if) we despised their form of government or their leader.

I still believe that people can never be homogenous now with globalization. There will always be separation of people and it is not a bad thing as long as we respect people who stand out as being different in whatever way they are different. Whether people are different because of race, religion, culture, geography, ability, disability, knowledge, language, age, shape, or economics, they should all be treated with respect and understanding. It is lack of inclusion by the whole of separate parts that creates strife.