By Reid Fitzsimons (see the image gallery at the end of this article)
Many forces in our culture, which could properly be described as elite and privileged, have begun invoking a mantra- essentially an incantation with trappings of religiosity- consisting primarily of three words: diversity, equity, inclusion. These words especially emanate from the mouths and pens of the "woke" in academia, partisan political circles, corporate-financial-globalist interests, the celebrity world, university students, government bureaucracies at all levels and, increasingly, the military hierarchy. They are vacuous words, of course, used by people who shouldn’t have vacuous minds, but nevertheless tend to frame their thoughts with slogans and chants. I suspect if one of them were asked, for example, “What do you mean by ‘diversity?” the answer might be, ”People who don’t look like me. Diversity is our strength!” Does “equity” imply equality of opportunity or mandated outcomes, regardless of effort? Do those who demand “inclusion” embrace people who have contrary beliefs and opinions, or those they otherwise deplore?
This mantra has been incubating and evolving for many years, but its prominence greatly accelerated with the killing of George Floyd in May of 2020, and the many opportunities his death afforded, such as the power and money amassed by the elite black racialists of “Black Lives Matter.” If a mantra can be considered to be underlying principles, so to speak, then associated slogans are often calls to action, for example, “No Justice! No Peace!” or “defund” the police!” While mantras and slogans can be emotionally satisfying, they really shouldn’t form a foundation for law and social policy, and certainly not by those who are given authority over such things, yet sadly, and often with horrific consequences, they do. With this in mind, let’s consider a sobering historical fact and how it is applicable to today.
