Have you ever wondered what it feels like to be a minority? Most people confuse this question with, "Have you personally felt discrimination?"

I separate the two questions because they are often not the same situation or perception. As a society, we tend to view a person as a minority based on some physical identifier such as skin color, facial structure, accent, or surname.

This becomes apparent when we use the identifier and discover (more like stumble into the reality) that we are wrong. The good news is we have a government that has defined who is a minority, what discrimination is, and how we can all be tolerant and inclusive. In fact, the majority of Fortune 500 companies spend millions of dollars educating their work force on diversity and inclusion.

This Christmas season, however, I came to understand that our society, while embracing diversity, would never be inclusive. To be inclusive means we allow for all points of views to be voiced whether we agree or not. Yet everyday we find examples of individuals or groups whose viewpoint we either disagree with or find repulsive.

December is probably the best month to demonstrate our inability to be inclusive. After all, what was your reaction to the term "Christmas season" above? Were you offended by it? Did you presume that I must be a Christian? Or did you simply disregard the term as just a part of this blog?

Last month I participated in a diversity celebration. The goal was to embrace every possible cultural and ethnic celebration from around the world. There were "continents" with foods and displays highlighting many countries and beliefs; the planning group did an outstanding job of organizing the event. Yet during the planning stage they struggled to define how inclusive they could get, being diverse was never an issue.

The December celebrations headed the list: Christmas, Chanukah, and Kwanzaa. Chinese and Persian New Years were added, as well as cultural celebrations from other countries (regardless of when they are celebrated). Then came a suggestion that demonstrated the limits of inclusiveness - what about agnostics and atheists? Without getting into what these two groups may believe, the oddity of including them came from combining groups who have a spiritual belief/celebration with a group that has no such beliefs. Do you have a moment of nothing to acknowledge their beliefs?

I say this not to be condescending but rather to stress a point. It's like having a group of Pro Choice and Pro Life people in the same room and saying I support you both (unless of course you are a true fence sitter).

How did we get stuck in the desire to be inclusive when there is no logical way we can be? Look to your elected officials - they set the rules for Affirmative Action, Equal Employment, and guidelines for inclusion. Many politicians believe they are smarter than the rest of us. After all, we elected them to lead us because they are part of the elite crowd. So, as leaders, they need to make laws that tell us how to behave. Let me rock your world, if you believe politicians are the best-of-the-best. Here are some statistics from the last mayoral election for the City of Los Angeles (2005):

Registered voters made up only 37 percent of L.A.'s population . Of this group, just 27 percent of eligible voters ( 10 percentof the total population) decided the future leadership of the city. Add to this the fact that a majority of politicians get elected as a result of sound bites or negative ads - not always because they are the best person for the job - and you can see where I'm coming from.

Do we just give up on our neighbor or co-worker when it comes to diversity or inclusion? Absolutely not! Inclusiveness has to be a part of your character. I accept people for who they are as an individual not because an elected official told me to.

While I may not agree with a person's politics, personal lifestyle or annoying habits, I can accept them as a human being . Even people in the business world learn to work with an individual who grates on everyone else. Let's throw out the buzzword use of inclusion and replace it with acceptance.

Let me know your views on inclusion versus acceptance.