DEI is
an abbreviation for “diversity, equity, and inclusion”, and it is not welcomed by
today’s conservatives. Florida governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill in the
spring of 2023 that banned “diversity, equity, and inclusion” initiatives in
public colleges.
This
effort is part of DeSantis' larger work to crack down on what he calls "woke indoctrination" in schools. In
the last two years, state education officials have rejected dozens of
mathematics and social studies textbooks for students in K-12 schools.
Texas has been working on a similar bill banning DEI
programs in its own state university system.
DeSantis and Texas governor Greg Abbott would be horrified at
the educational system in Arizona.
Only one of the high schools in the Tucson school district is
more than 50% white. Three of them are more than 80% Hispanic. Catalina high
school has a student population that has more than 20 different first
languages, and many of them are from Africa.
Our grandson is the ONLY Caucasian in his kindergarten class –
and his maternal grandmother was born in Mexico.
https://www.npr.org/2023/05/15/1176210007/florida-ron-desantis-dei-ban-diversity
If you went back in time, you will discover that our Founding Fathers
were very much in favor of having from different backgrounds living here, which
is why our country’s unofficial motto has long been “E pluribus unum”.
E pluribus unum "Out of many, one (also translated as "One
out of many" or "One from many" – is a traditional motto of
the United States,
appearing on the Great Seal along
with Annuit cœptis (Latin
for "he approves the undertaking [lit. 'things undertaken']")
and Novus ordo seclorum (Latin
for "New order of the ages") which appear on the reverse of
the Great Seal; its inclusion on the seal was suggested by Pierre Eugene du
Simitiere and approved in an act of the Congress of
the Confederation in 1782.
The first word of E pluribus unum is actually an
abbreviation of the Latin preposition ex, meaning "out
of." While its status as national motto was for many years
unofficial, E pluribus unum was still considered the de
facto motto of the United States from its early history. Eventually,
the U.S. Congress passed an act in 1956 (H. J. Resolution 396), adopting "In God We Trust" as the official motto.
That the phrase "E pluribus unum" has thirteen letters makes
its use symbolic of the original Thirteen Colonies which rebelled against
the rule of the Kingdom of Great
Britain and became the first thirteen states, represented today
as the thirteen stripes on the American flag.
In the 1950’s, the United States was in the middle of a cold war
with Russia. America during the McCarthy era of 1950 to 1954 was terrified of
all those “Godless commies”, which resulted in the Hollywood black list and
many ruined lives.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E_pluribus_unum
Since “In God we trust” was on U.S. currency as early as 1864,
making the phrase our official motto make sense. The phrase was added to the national
anthem in 1954.
https://allthatsinteresting.com/in-god-we-trust
America has long been considered to be a “melting pot”, which is exactly why our country has been successful. Almost from its beginning, though, people of differing backgrounds have not always been welcomed here.
Columnist E.J. Montini posted a column about diversity this morning.
I have printed it below in its entirety:
******************************************************************
Most of us aren’t business analysts, but I’d guess if I were to
ask you if a company like, say, Google, was successful, you’d say yes.
And
if I was to ask the same thing about Nike or Apple or Dell Technologies or
Intel or JP Morgan Chase Bank or TD Bank or General Mills or Home Depot or
American Express or Progressive Insurance, you would say yes again.
And
you’d be correct.
Now,
what if I told you that one of the attributes that makes these companies what
they are, one of the things about which they are most proud, was described by
Republican Arizona state Sen. Wendy Rogers as “rot”?
It’s their diversity.
According to Forbes Magazine, the
businesses listed above are among the 100 best employers in
America for diversity.
Rogers apparently hates the thought of
that.
She and fellow Republicans are among
those supporting House Concurrent Resolution 2056, an attempt to
get Arizona voters to end the pursuit of a diverse workforce within state
government.
In a hearing last week, Rogers said in
part that an “obsession with diversity” has “created a rot in
our military and industry, in education, in aviation … .”
I’d guess that the very successful
companies listed above, among many, many others, might disagree.
However, a person could argue
that there is a rot in a political party in which one of its elected
officials praises a white nationalist,
as Rogers has done several times with Nick Fuentes.
Or when that same elected official
talks of being honored by the endorsement of a notorious
antisemite like Andrew Torba, which Rogers also has done.
Or when that same state senator
suggests on right-wing social media that the racist who killed 10 people in a
supermarket in Buffalo, N.Y., might have been part of a federal conspiracy,
saying on the site Telegram, “Fed boy summer has
started in Buffalo.”
Or when this same election-denying,
conspiracy-spreading politician suggested that her political opponents should be
hanged.
There are several Arizona companies
mentioned in the Forbes list, as well as in a similar list published by Newsweek,
which noted Arizona Public Service, Arizona State University, Honor Health and
Microchip Technology.
The fact that these businesses are
diverse means there are individuals working there of different ages, races,
genders, sexual orientation, religious beliefs and ethnicities.
Look around. Look in the mirror.
The
“rot” that Rogers vilifies and reviles is … you.
As a general rule, states that have a more diverse population
are more open-minded about things, which means they also would be considered to
be “liberal”. They also are states that are better educated and less religious
than other states.
In order, the states that are the most educated are
Massachusetts, Maryland, Colorado, Vermont, and Connecticut. If you view them
on the Cook Partisan Viewing Index, you’ll notice that they are all “Blue”
states.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cook_Partisan_Voting_Index
https://wallethub.com/edu/e/most-educated-states/31075
The states that are the least educated (starting from the bottom)
are Mississippi, West Virginia, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Alabama. Not
surprisingly, they are all “red” states. They also happen to be the most religious
states, which is why Donald Trump did well in those states. In 2016, he
captured 81% of the evangelical vote. Even today, there are still people in
those states who think that Trump was sent by God.
https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2016/02/29/how-religious-is-your-state/?state=alabama
Although it’s always important to vote, all we can really do
to keep our country on track is to diplomatically try to educate the people in
our society are less educated. – which is not an easy task. In addition, if you
become aware of pending legislation in your state that is trying to limit
diversity, let your legislators know that it is not a good idea.
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