The Downside of Diversity?

From the International Herald Tribune:

It has become increasingly popular to speak of racial and ethnic diversity as a civic strength. From multicultural festivals to pronouncements from political leaders, the message is the same: our differences make us stronger.

But a massive new study, based on detailed interviews of nearly 30,000 people across America, has concluded just the opposite. Harvard political scientist Robert Putnam -- famous for "Bowling Alone," his 2000 book on declining civic engagement -- has found that the greater the diversity in a community, the fewer people vote and the less they volunteer, the less they give to charity and work on community projects. In the most diverse communities, neighbors trust one another about half as much as they do in the most homogenous settings. The study, the largest ever on civic engagement in America, found that virtually all measures of civic health are lower in more diverse settings.

Huh. There's a ton of info in the article and my brain is a little too mashed at the moment to think clearly about it, but my initial response is to really respect Putnam, who has courageously published results that he knows, as a civic leader, will probably be used against the ideals he strives for by certain conservative groups. I'm also impressed that in addition to just publishing the data, he included some prescriptions to help smooth over some of these difficulties, and offers some hope that while these things may be true in the short term, over the long term "increasing diversity in America is not only inevitable, but ultimately valuable and enriching."