Race, Color, Culture

I have never held color, race, culture, or religion against anyone as long as they didn’t try to convert me to their religion or try to say that they were better than me due to their color, race, culture or religion.
I am not racially prejudiced, or I try not to be. Who can say for sure? There is always some one that we dislike. But I will be the first to admit that I have been friends with a large number of people who were of different races, colors, cultures, and believed differently than I did.
I have had a varying and varied amount of different jobs. I have lived in 11 different states ( I am considering a three month stay as having lived there), 12 different towns, and been in at least 34 of our wonderful 50 states. This means that I have known lots of people and experienced lots of different cultures. Yes, it is true you can lean about many different cultures here in our wonderful country and never set foot out of it. And all of those cultures that have come from other countries are influenced greatly by the state and town that they are in. Consider the difference in a white/Caucasian person raised in New York City to one like myself raised mostly in New Mexico. Or the Mexican raised in New Mexico to the Spanish or Latino person raised in New York City. That is until that person in New York moves to Albuquerque and then raises their children who will have a different outlook on life than their parents did but with ideas that came from New York as well.
Every time a person moves to a different state or town they are leaning new things, new ways of living, of new cultures, new outlooks on life and they, in turn, teach new things to their children, friends, and even casual acquaintances.
So since this country is so mixed up in their cultures, and religions, and outlooks on life why is it so hard for us to except new ideas? Or new people? Or even the thought of having a dark skinned person, or a white-haired older man, or a woman as a president?
Why has our political race for president brought out more racist, bigoted, prejudiced, chauvinistic, intolerant, narrow-minded people than I knew existed?
As I said before I have had lots of friends and many different jobs. I have worked with, and been friends with people who were white or Caucasian, people who where of African decent and where every shade of color - from one woman who was as white as I am but who had a full sister that was almost a true shade of black. I have known people who were from or where descended from Russians, Vietnamese, Laosions, Navajo, Sioux, Zuni, Pueblo, German, English, Australian, Philippino, Hawaiian, Mexican, Latino, Spanish, Canadian, Japanese. Those are the ones I can think of quickly. I am sure there are others as well as lots of Americans like my self. And I liked every one of them.
On the other hand – I have known almost the same list of nationalities that where people that I didn’t like.
It isn’t the color, or the race, or what country they are from that makes a person likable or a friend.