When are we going to wake up? We are different. We have differing views, opinions, and politics. This is good. (It should be considered good.) Unfortunately, those who would have us divided keep putting fuel on fires that might otherwise die out on their own. (And, by fires dying out on their own, I am not suggesting that they will just go away, if we ignore them. Quite the contrary.)
A friend on social shared a meme of a sign purportedly posted in the window of a socially liberal business window. It suggested that “All are welcome here. Except….” Apparently, those who would sow discord have not mastered Photoshop. The exceptions that followed and the statement: “you people can go f*uck yourselves and die” lacked any evidence of perspective. Sadly, many see this crap and take it for real. They use it to further the divide in this nation. This, my reader, has to stop!
I have written often about the division that is tearing the fabric of this great nation. It is not accidental. It is the agenda of those would seek to have power. (I am sounding like a conspiracy theory nut here, but, trust me, I am not.) We need to seek unity at the cost of self.
I read also, today, about the forced resignation of Dr. Stephen Hsu, Vice President of Research and Innovation at Michigan State University (MSU) “after he promoted a 2019 study that found there to be no racial bias in incidents of officer-involved shootings.”1 Admittedly, I do not know all of the details of the story or MSU President Samuel Stanley’s decision to ask Hsu for his resignation. Apparently, 800 or so people signed a petition titled “Fire Stephen Hsu” circulated by the Graduate Employees Union (GEU) at MSU. While nearly 2,000 supporters signed a counter-petition, this didn’t seem to matter. Nor does it seem to matter that Michigan State University has an enrollment of nearly 50,000 student and the campus surely employs thousands of administrators, faculty, and staffers. It would appear that the loud voice of a few was hear over the many.
“True diversity flourishes best under conditions of free inquiry, because such a philosophy demands that everyone have a seat at the table and that views be evaluated on the basis of cogency of the supporting reasoning and strength and internal consistency of the accumulated evidence rather than the identity, power, number, or vociferousness of the people expressing them.”—Stephen Hsu’s supporters in a letter to MSU President Samuel Stanley
The GEU at MSU suggested that Dr. Hsu could not uphold the mission of the University or the commitment to “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion”. This may or may not be. I cannot, personally speak to this. It does, however, appear consistent with my own experiences with university diversity, equity, and inclusion promoters. It is unfortunate, when we consider these issues to be “us” v. “them” rather than, simply, and “us” issue. Diversity, after all, benefits us all. It benefits us most, however, when we recognize the unique contribution that every member of society contributes to the collective. Diversity, in its pure sense, is to give a voice to everyone. It is not yielding the voice of the minority or the marginalized to the power of a few.
True diversity, equity, and inclusion should not divide us. It might, and should, make us uncomfortable, but this is what promotes growth—what promotes change.
We need leadership that seeks to unify rather than divide. It would behoove us to consider what a “Kingdom of God (a God who is ‘love’)” might look like. I’ve said this before: The problems in our society will not be corrected by taking sides. They will be fixed by standing at the lines of division and extending hands to both friend and enemy.
Be your best today; be better tomorrow,
Carpe momento!
1https://bluelivesmatter.blue/university-administrator-forced-to-resign-over-study-finding-no-racial-bias-in-police-shootings/?fbclid=IwAR1QtLieuB4T5njrnijGXxJb70geeGkLkElr3AwEBV4Oe7a3M8NlwYpbJ6s