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Country would do well to abandon 'diversity'

The concept of "diversity" demeans people by treating them as reflections of group identity rather than as individuals.

Date published: 4/13/2003

OSTON--A pair of cases currently before the Supreme Court has put a spotlight on the concept of "diversity." The University of Michigan contends that diversity is such a good thing that the effort to achieve it ought to override our constitutional prohibition on racial privileges.

Many college presidents, business leaders, and even military figures publicly support the University of Michigan's position. But is diversity really so high a principle that we should abandon the ideal of treating people as individuals according to neutral and fair standards? And how did we get into this fix?

The word "diversity" is everywhere these days. Americans seem obsessed with it, from the kindergarten teacher who sees a multicultural metaphor in every box of crayons to the business exec running from sales meetings to "diversity awareness workshops."

Diversity greets us on Hallmark Cards' Common Threads Collection. On Sunday mornings our pastors and preachers commend diversity as an almost holy thing. But it is also a secular wonder, exhibited by museums, paraded at halftimes, and lip synced in the teenage titillations of MTV. In Sarasota, Fla., the Boy Scout Troop 84 and Girl Scout Group 2064 host an annual "Diversity Awareness Weekend."

Indeed, you have to look hard to find any corner of American life where diversity is not the buzzword. The funeral industry? Hardly. One of the announced "highlights" of the upcoming Missouri Funeral Directors Association meeting in June is a presentation by fourth-generation funeral director Edith Churchman on "Cultural Diversity & Ethnic Variation in Death, Dying, and Grieving."

How about professional sports? Surely here is the proverbial level playing field where talent trumps racial, ethnic, and cultural identity. Sorry. In case you haven't been following the sports pages, the NFL owners have a diversity committee, whose chairman Dan Rooney has been ragging the Detroit Lions for not interviewing a minority for the job of head coach that went to Steve Mariucci.

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Date published: 4/13/2003