Some Big Problems. I have been presenting my view that Trump’s popularity with half of our nation is in part due to the identification of problems and his willingness to attack those problems. I have three areas I agree are problems but disagree with the means of attacking them. The first problem was immigration, the second was the national debt. The third problem and final problem in this series is the overzealous actions of wokeness, particularly DEI.
I agree the pendulum has swung too far. Previously I recommended John McWorter’s book Woke Racism in which he makes it clear that the pendulum in the fight against prejudice has swung too far. Please carefully note – I understand we still have problems of prejudice that need to be addressed but, in my opinion, fighting prejudice in self-serving and prejudicial ways is not proper.
Why is over-wokeness a problem? I will share a few observations that helped form my personal view. These are a select few from many possible observations.
First, recently a good friend shared that his son applied for an academic position at a prestigious American university. His son was told he was the most qualified person but he was a white male and would not get the job. They needed to hire a female minority.
Next, recently I read a claim of bias because only 19% of NFL coaches are Black. To me, since athletic ability is not a requirement for a coach, the complaint is unfounded. 19% is more than the 14% black population. 19% is not evidence of prejudice against Blacks and to push for a higher quota is not appropriate.
To understand the resentment about quotas, just imagine the uproar if we had quotas in the NBA and NFL for Hispanics, Asians and Whites. To the average person the over representation of Blacks in sports is acceptable because it is earned. They want the same treatment in their job applications.
I could go on and on but my final observation is the current disproportional representation of minorities in advertising and other areas of the media. If I want fair, unbiased representation, then for every Black person with a speaking part in advertising at least one Hispanic and six other cultures should be represented before another Black spokesperson occurs. The same goes for non-speaking people in ads, lead actors in shows or news commentators. Currently I see over representation in many areas on television. The pendulum has swung too far.
The media analysis even applies to one of my favorite shows. I love Family Feud and Steve Harvey. To be unbiased, one out of every eight families participating in the game show should be black. The ratio is much higher.
Attack the problem with understanding. Having said over-wokeness is a problem that needs addressing I must be clear, I do not support the chainsaw approach to the problem. We need a more sensitive, thoughtful approach. My example of the chainsaw failing is the one size fits all attack that is the current mode of attack on all DEI.
I am a critic of some applications of DEI. I have a friend who attended DEI training and the leaders want whites to believe that they are all racists and solely responsible for events of the past. Whites were expected to feel guilty and make amends. I disagree with any extreme approach that makes whites to be the sole problem with prejudice.
Thus, I do not support DEI as practiced in some forms.
However, some people believe DEI in all its forms is ruining our military, our schools, our businesses, our country. They attack DEI in a self-righteous, my way or the highway, single-minded, knee-jerk, seat-of-the-pants, chainsaw manner. I believe we need serious reflection.
If I thoughtlessly and glibly say I am against DEI in all forms then I am saying I am against Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
Think about that statement. Are we really against are against Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
I would ask everyone to consider — if I am against diversity then I am for sameness, uniformity, homogeneity, conformity, likeness, no variety.
It means I only want one, but one what? Only whites? Only males? Only the rich? Only Christians who have the same theology as I have?
Similarly, if I am against equity, I am for inequity, unevenness, unfairness, imbalance, discrimination, disparity. The question becomes who are the disadvantaged? Blacks, Hispanics, Asians, Native Americans, immigrants, the poor, non-Christians, Christians who do not have the same theology as I have?
Similarly, if I am against inclusion, I am for exclusion, rejection, segregation, omission, banishment, elimination. Then the question is who is excluded? Blacks, Hispanics, Asians, Native Americans, immigrants, the poor, non-Christians, Christians who do not have the same theology as I have? THOSE PEOPLE?
I am against certain DEI practices but I am not against diversity, equity, and inclusion.
One major reason I believe in a thoughtful approach is because there are those who are anti DEI because they are White Supremacists. For example, a lawyer for ICE in Texas has a White Supremacist site on X. He wrote such repugnant ideas as “America is a White nation, founded by Whites. … Our country should favor us, …” and ““All blacks are foreign to my people, …”
You can read more at —
https://www.texasobserver.org/ice-prosecutor-dallas-white-supremacist-x-account
ICE Prosecutor in Dallas Runs White Supremacist X Account
Sadly, he has kept his job with ICE and his account on X has many followers.
Foreign Aid. A reader wrote a thoughtful response to my last blog. In the blog, I said I support budget reductions, but I was against a chainsaw approach to reductions. He had problems with foreign aid. As a part of his response, he suggested some of the countries to which we have provide foreign aid could repay us to help reduce our national debt.
To understand foreign aid, I think it is important know two facts: First, research shows many people think we give as much as 25% of our annual budget goes to foreign aid. Most people do not know the US foreign aid is only around one percent of our budget. Any payback would not go far toward debt reduction.
Even fewer people understand that as a developed country we spend very little on foreign aid as a proportion of our GNP. We are at or near the bottom of developed countries with regard to giving as percent of GNP. Any cuts will further reduce our percentage. I think any cuts should be carefully approached, not simply removed by a chainsaw.
This is a helpful article for understanding facts about foreign aid. https://www.brookings.edu/articles/what-every-american-should-know-about-us-foreign-aid/#:~:text=Foreign%20aid%20is%20money,
I always think about foreign aid in light of the story of the widow’s mite in scripture. We are the rich person. I want some of my taxes to go for services in other countries–not because of any political philosophy but because of my faith walk.
My friend was also critical of research spending. He wanted universities to pay for the research rather than tax dollars.
One problem I see with cuts to research is aan imbalanced trade-off. The positive effects of a reduction of expenditures may have a significantly negative impact on the overall economy. Research is certainly one of the areas in which I believe that broader negative impact would occur. The following article shows the positive economic impact of research dollars.
NIH funding delivers exponential economic returns — Harvard Gazette
This and That
It’s that time of year. We have one son who attended Alabama and one who attended Duke. March Madness is alive and well. If both teams win on Thursday the on Saturday Duke will play Alabama.
In my opinion Houston, Duke, Florida, Auburn and Alabama are the leading contenders on the men’s side.
I was sorry to see the injury to JuJu Watkins for USC. Unfortunately, the injury makes Connecticut the favorite on the women’s side.
Oops. The release of the Kennedy papers in an all-or none fashion resulted in the exposure of Social Security information. One person in particular who is a Trump supporter was not happy.
Our climate. Seven trillion tons of ice have melted since 2000
https://reader.mobilepressregister.com/0221-nw-climate-change-glaciers/content.html
Good News
Heartwarming
Woman With Down Syndrome Co-Founds Successful Accessories Brand
‘I Almost Cried’: Man Returns Wallet He Found In Road
First Responders
Minneapolis Cop Goes Above and Beyond For Elderly Resident
Kansas Trooper Rescues Kidnapped 6-Year-Old During Routine Traffic Stop
Peace
Jerry
0 Comments