OPINION: Let’s celebrate diversity — in Idaho of all places

I was invited to a friend’s place for a holiday meal. A mixed crowd showed up: different ages, different sexual orientations, different income levels and varied spiritual paths. I felt right at home. Alicia passed me the potato salad, our eyes met, and a conversation ensued.

Our talk flowed from the diverse ingredients in the potato salad to our love of cultural diversity, to a related topic that ensnared us both: the organizational framework of DEI — diversity, equity, inclusion.

“Hard to believe that decades have gone by since the Civil Rights Act,” she said, “and it’s like nothing happened, no progress at all.”

“I think I know what you mean,” I said while placing cheese on a cracker, “and do you think DEI is a way to make some progress, get some traction on equity?”

“Duh? I mean excuse my candor, Todd, but if there is no strong voice out there for those at the bottom of the heap, we’ll never get out of this oppressive cycle of inequality and senseless suffering.” The scowl on her face demanded I sympathize. I offered a genial glance as she passed me the curried cauliflower in hopes of diffusing the tension. I was not feeling sympathetic.

“No question, Alicia. The oppression you talk about is very real. Blacks and gays I have listened to do not feel welcomed in our community or at our university, and look around — there isn’t a Black face at this table. On a personal note, the lack of color in this town is depressing; it’s so bright and white my kids are going blind — and they don’t know it. Pretty soon we’ll have the religious thought-police roaming the alleyways of the neighborhood making you and I feel like outsiders. No, I get where you are coming from; I just don’t see any evidence that DEI programs are moving the dial in our direction.”

Alicia seemed to stare through me, then softened a bit. “I don’t know about evidence. Cultural norms don’t change overnight. I know that much. Slavery was the norm for centuries. DEI programs have been around for how long?” She almost gloated.

“Decades, not centuries,” I said, completing her thought. And then to complete my own: “If it’s going to take centuries of DEI to level the playing field, I’m afraid the human race will be long gone before then.”

She refilled my water glass. “You can’t actually be saying that you agree with Idaho’s Board of Ed to ban all DEI college programs?”

“Yes. That’s what I’m saying — and I do realize that you have a pitcher of ice water in your hand. Should I apologize?” Her coolness required I consider it, or at least offer a contrite explanation.

“What I am saying is hard to say. You’ve heard that an eye for an eye makes the world blind. One close-minded ideology for another narrow-minded ideology does much the same. Not only is there no research data indicating DEI programs increase empathy and decrease prejudice, there is now research out of Rutgers University indicating the opposite — these programs tend to increase hostility against the so-called privileged class.”

“Really? Smells like hypothetical bull to me.”

“Not necessarily. I mean imagine you are an 18-year-old university freshman and the dominant message you get on campus is that power is in the hands of the privileged, and they wield this power to oppress good people, and you have to be on the good side and resist the evil oppressor at every turn. That’s a taste of the Kool-Aid they’re drinking.”

“My mom is faculty and she hasn’t said a bad word about it. She likes DEI.”

“I don’t know about your mom, but faculty surveys have turned up large numbers who feel they must pass an ideological litmus test just to get hired. And the strong undercurrent is: If you want to keep your job — you best play ball.”

“Todd,” she mused, “I think you might have drunk a bad batch of that Kool-Aid yourself.”

I accepted that was possible. “More food for thought.” I placed a spoonful of potato salad on Alicia’s plate. “Let’s celebrate diversity — in Idaho of all places.”

After years of globetrotting, Todd J. Broadman finds himself writing from his perch on the Palouse and loving the view. His policy briefs can be found at US Resist News: https://www.usresistnews.org.