Riverside’s Example for Intermixing

What a heartwarming article by Susan Straight (“Ground Zero of the New California,” Opinion, June 3). It is so beneficial for all of us that the rest of the state and the nation are starting to catch up with Riverside regarding intermixing and getting along together. Regardless of the diverse opinions people have of Bill Clinton, he did want his administration to look like America, an America that is becoming more and more like Riverside.

Not only in this country, but also in the Balkans, Northern Ireland, India, Africa, etc., perhaps religious and racial strife could be ameliorated by Riverside’s example. Southern California has been ahead of the nation over the years as a melting pot. I can personally attest, as the son of a Norwegian immigrant father, to going from homes in southwest L.A. to Downey to Pasadena and finally Newport Beach with my immediate progeny picking up along the way a consummate ethnic/racial mix resulting in black, Latino, Japanese, Native American and Arabic grandchildren--a sort of mini-Riverside.

Ken Kvammen

Newport Beach