Defense of DEI is defense of racism

America has a checkered history regarding race, but not mentioned in the Daily Herald’s Feb. 9 editorial is that 600,000 people died to end slavery and legislation was adopted in the 1960s making discrimination based on race, gender, etc. illegal.

DEI is divisive. It drives a wedge between groups and excludes people based on race. It is not simply that DEI is not perfect. DEI, at its core, should be considered illegal, because it bases decisions on race and excludes others based simply on race. America is not perfect, but in 2008 we elected a Black man as president of the United States. That couldn’t happen without many white people voting for him. The days that excluded Jackie Robinson are over. Having said that, we should strive for diversity and inclusion, but not at the exclusion of merit.

We need the best and the brightest regardless of race to solve the issues facing us today. If people are falling behind, we should provide resources to improve education and chances of employment. Equality of opportunity not equity in outcome should be our goal.

There are no guarantees in life and to artificially make one based simply on race is wrong. Adjusting standards to allow people to attain employment and other opportunities simply because of their race is wrong. We need to raise people up to meet stringent standards and not settle for less.

DEI was a horrible step backward for all aspects of life, most importantly in our military and in the education of our children. How did we get so far from what Martin Luther King Jr. said? People should not be “judged based on the color of their skin but based on the content of their character.”

Support of DEI is support for institutionalized racism, and racism has no cure other than to eliminate it.

David Clark

Libertyville