I agree that it’s beneficial. I don’t make friends based on superficial criteria, but on how our personalities connect. I have definitely gained greater insight into issues by learning the perspective of those who approach the issue from a different direction than I.
As such, I feel that I have become far less critical of others, and less certain of my opinion on matters for which I can recognize that my position has a strong influence – whether that is a position of privilege (e.g. having higher education or having been born a white American) or a position of challenge (e.g. being female or being abused in childhood). My mind is more open and I can start examining situations from different angles based on what these diverse friends have shared with me.
One example is a few years ago, when we were out with friends of ours who are the same sex. As we waited for dinner, my fiancĂ© reached for my hand the way we typically do – almost reflexively. Neither of our friends showed any reaction, but I became aware of the fact that they were not free to demonstrate their affection for each other, and they had already been a couple for over ten years! This was prior to the recent push to legalize same-sex marriage across the country, so hopefully it won’t be much longer that they feel pressured to withhold their affection for one another, but in that instant I recognized my privilege as a heterosexual to feel free to my partner’s hand.