Diversity Thursday

demand a better way

As everyone here is probably aware ... the drivers of sectarianism, division, and strife think they have the wind at their back and are on the march.

There were some minor victories here and there for those who desire unity, equality, and a just society based on individual character - but make no mistake, the forces of division are on the march again.

Those who desire to move to a point of unity for the citizens in our little experiment is self governance have for too long given the benefit of the doubt to people we should not have. We have let people slowly back away from the vision of a unified nation as best outlined by MLK over half a century ago, and now we find ourselves re-segregating along sectarian lines.  

We have allowed our institutions of higher learning and government - from the Ivy League to the CNO's office - create cells that instead of doing what is good and just - ensuring equality under the law and fair treatment - are working to promote division and establish parallel structures to steer people in to easily controlled and manipulated segments based on something at its base both useless, and beyond their control; their race and ethnicity.

Though there are a few well meaning people in this line of work, on balance this is done for the most base of reasons; power and money.

Too many hills have been surrendered to the diversity industry by people who hoped well meaning people who had good ideas meant well. 

They don't. 

In the cost benefit analysis, those hills were "not worth fighting for." Now the forces of division own much of the high ground and have those who desire unity surrounded. 

People forgot the basics; if you hold the high ground and someone is willing to fight you for it - it is worth fighting for. You may not know what plans they have for it - but they do. Once you figure it out after they have it, getting that ground back will be harder than it would be to defend it in the first place.

Stand up and fight sectarianism whenever you can. When you can't, slow roll it. Embarrass it. Make it responsible to its own internal contradictions. Use the same tools it does, but use them to push back.

If you don't, such hate producing structures as below will multiply and multiply, further fracturing our polyglot nation.

We are better than this. If we desire a better future for our posterity, we will work to reject this. 

Columbia University is planning to hold six additional graduation ceremonies for students according to their race and other aspects of how they identify.

The New York City school's website details graduation ceremonies for Native, Asian, "Latinx" and Black students taking place for Columbia College, Columbia Engineering, General Studies and Barnard College at the end of April. Another dubbed "FLI Graduation" is for "first generation and/or low income community." The school also hosts a "Lavender" graduation for the "LGBTIAQ+ community."

Institutions of higher learning such as Columbia are where, in the legacy structure, this nation gets it's "leaders" from. When you look at what is going on here and other of our top institutions, you need to understand that these habits and world views will find their way in to our society writ large. 

It is time that we consider what kind of education graduates of such universities are getting today, regardless of what they may have produced in the past, and act accordingly.

If you have a stake in these institutions or others, it is time to stand up where you can, push back when you have the ability, and demand a better way.

Yes, they will call you names. Yes, they will impugn your character. That is how they got to where they are today.