Liberals often like to celebrate diversity as a wonderful and enriching aspect of our society, and conservatives frequently seem to want to eradicate diversity in favor of the hegemony of straight, white, American males. Both positions miss out on something. Not only is conservative opposition to diversity often mean-spirited and bigoted, it’s also mistaken in its view of the possibilities of the future. American cannot, even if it wanted to, go back to the traditional, white, Anglo-Saxon, Protestant mainstream of the 1950s. Diversity will not just stick around, it will increase in this country for demographic, economic, and political reasons that would be nigh impossible to reverse. Yet this increasing diversity is not just a cause for celebration, but a cause for reflection on the social makeup of our country because, contrary to what some liberals seem to think, diversity is not just a source of enriching broadening of our horizons, but is also a big source of conflict in society.