My mother used to say change begins in your own backyard. All of us have to live in this great big world together–the common ground between blacks and whites, men and women, Jews and Christians, and gays and straights is there to savor if only one takes a moment to set aside our differences, but mostly our fear of what we think of as strange, or other. Today is the Harvey Milk Day of Action–by all means, get out and yell against bigotry and prejudice. Use your vote to strike a blow for tolerance. But also take a moment to reconsider your neighbors, the delivery boy or the teller at the bank. Note–and respect–the differences, and the similarities. And recognize that people are people, no matter what.