I'm taking an honors course at my university called Human Diversity. The general idea of the course is to discuss why people are different and what it means to be human. We're discussing it in terms of genealogy, anthropology, science and religion. We've been talking a lot about evolution so far, and we'll also be discussing gender, race and other groups that conflict and why.

Living in Cincinnati, the subject of racial conflict is in the news almost every day. Today is the one year anniversary of the shooting of Timothy Thomas, an unarmed black man who was running away from a white police officer. This was the straw that broke the camel's back and started the riots that became world news.

As diversity and conflict seem to be a pertinent subject in our world right now, perhaps we could discuss groups throughout history who have been in bitter conflict, why they were, and how the issue was resolved. So many are because of race or nationality, but there are also many conflicts that begin simply because one side doesn't understand the other and both are two stubborn to back down. Let us reflect.