It has intrigued me for a long time that carbon atoms can go together in such different ways as to produce graphite and diamond. Graphite is useful, but not extraordinarily valuable. Diamond has limited usefulness, but is extremely valuable.

Ounce for ounce, there’s no comparison in the cost of these two materials. Yet if one were to deconstruct those two ounces of matter, all one would have is two piles of identical carbon atoms.

As individual human beings, we make much of the differences between us. Sex, race, ethnicity, culture, socio-economic status and so on are the focus of much human attention. Some of that attention is directed toward keeping those who are "different" in their place. Often, the differences are the basis for the relative social value we assign to people. Crudely put, we appreciate some persons as diamond, others we despise as graphite, whose only value is their usefulness to us.

For Reflection:

• Think about some of the factors that determine where you fit into the social order of your community.
• How do you feel about where you fit – are you undervalued, overvalued, or valued appropriately in your social context?