Since the University of Utah’s commencement ceremonies on May 2, I’ve continued to think about the keynote speaker’s message. While people protested outside and a few tried to disrupt things inside, Eboo Patel, a Utah impact scholar and founder and president of Interfaith America, gave us a lesson in diversity and acceptance using the simple metaphor of potlucks. Yes, potlucks.
Imagine going to a potluck where every single person brought funeral potatoes. What a boring and unhealthy meal that would be. But if the tables were spilling over with new, interesting and unfamiliar dishes, we’d all get to sample things out of our regular orbit and even our comfort zones. We might even find we like them.
That’s the beauty of being exposed to different ideas, backgrounds and perspectives. We don’t know what we don’t know — or like — until we’re introduced to it. We’ll never be able to come together to find solutions until we start listening to those who believe differently than we do. In our contentious and divided world right now, and in our society where diversity, equity and inclusion are under fire, could this potluck metaphor be the answer? Food for thought.
Kim Smart, Salt Lake City