Lively Letters: DEI is another acronym for BS

Doug Lively

Date: June 15, 2025

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in columns are those of the author and not necessarily the Augusta Press, its owners or staff.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is a bunch of horse hockey.

Obviously horse hockey is not the word I wanted to use, but decorum prevents.

DEI is the biggest social ruse ever used on businesses, institutions of higher learning, government agencies and the American people ever! Ever!

Maybe a debate could be held of the covid scam being tied for first place, but it would be one heck of a debate. I dare you to name another scam of the magnitude, another scam that harmed innocent people more, another scam that denied the very laws of nature, another scam that ruined the idea of meritocracy, another scam that rewarded the undeserving and punished achievers more than DEI.

There is no other effort which flew against conventional wisdom and disregarded every phrase or slogan ever used to encourage people to achieve their greatest potential through sheer practice and effort since the beginning of time.

Sayings like:

• “It’s not how many times you fall, it’s how many times you get back up”

• “Quitters never win and winners never quit” 

• “ It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog”

• “Second place is the first loser”

• “If at first you don’t succeed, try again”

Even the verses of great poets become meaningless!

Rudyard Kipling’s poem “If.”

Martin Luther Kings “I Have A Dream.”

John Greenleaf Whittier’s “Don’t Quit.”

Speeches of wisdom from every inspirational personality since the written word about effort, about perseverance, about overcoming adversity, about going against insurmountable odds and winning, all flushed down the drain of foolishness in the vortex of stupidity and favoring groups simply because theywere born into a minority class by birth or elected to join a created minority protected class.

I can say this in the year 2025 when equality of opportunity is a reality and legal avenues are available to rectify and punish valid cases of discrimination against Americans based on the Civil Rights Act of 1964 andTitle VII which prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. Does discrimination still occur? Sure it does. As a White man I have been discriminated against and unfairly treated because of my skin color. But I know from experience that companies look for minorities possessing managerial qualities for promotion. It helps them check off the box!

Where did DEI come from?

I have long recognized that any absence of leadership becomes filled like a vacuum with anything filling the void regardless of qualification. I would never have fathomed the void created by a president suffering with declining cognitive ability would be filled with an idea so farfetched as to leave rational, thinking people with jaws dropped looking on in absolute astonishment. Many of you shared in my disbelief. First in the introduction of the concept of DEI, then in the manner in which it gained a foothold, then traction and advance in society.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title VII provides for equality of opportunity.

Equality of Opportunity!

Equality of Opportunity!

A person cannot be discriminated against or denied Opportunitybased on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.
These immutable characteristics, ones which cannot be changed, have been socially expanded to include a variety of situations and conditions people choose. Not only do people choose situations, but it has become common for them to pronounce their choices and then demand people to accept and embrace their choices.

Equality of Opportunity has become confused with diversity.

Diversity

Diverse is an adjective describing what our country has become and was never an objective to strive for. America, the new world, was a land of escape from oppression in Europe. The British immigrants looked for relief from religious persecution and oppressive royal taxes. The Irish and Scottish fled occupation of England. Italians immigrated for the same reasons. America represented opportunities that were not available in Europe, such as land ownership, freedom of religion and freedom from oppression. Our coinage included the Latin motto “E Pluribus Unum” (meaning “out of many, one”) since 1795. 

Each ethnicity contributed features from their culture. America became known as a “melting pot” of these different descents, foods and cultures. Yet they each maintained their own personality. Most major cities have their separate sections. New York has Chinatown, Little Italy and Harlem, each with their own personality based on the inhabitants’ culture and background.

America has always been a meritocracy. The success level a person rose to was based on talent, ability and effort after recognizing the available opportunity With exception and respect to the horrendous practice of slavery, a man was limited by his own effort and ingenuity.

The idea anyone should be awarded the fruits of another’s labor, ideas, or talents is foreign to what America was founded on. The idea anyone should be denied opportunity due to the color of their skin is in direct opposition to the intent of our Constitutionto maintain some Quota is as UnAmerican as we can get.

If diversity was designed to occur freely in nature alligators and chickens would reside together. Birds of a feather would not flock together, fish would not school. That level of cohabitation and peace is reserved for a new world where the lion will lay down with the lamb.

Equity

Let’s talk about equity. I truly believe many confuse equity with equality out of ignorance and, honestly, because the words sound alike. Equality rings throughout America’s founding documents primarily to accentuate our difference from the aristocracy and commoner beliefs in Europe. In America, all men are recognized to be created equal. Not some created as royal, others created common, not some created superior and others inferior.

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In contemporary usage, “equity” often refers to providing opportunities and resources based on individual needs, rather than simply providing the same opportunities to everyone. This is the distinction between “equality” (treating everyone the same) and “equity” (treating everyone according to their needs). Treating people according to their needs disregards the reason for their needs which may very well be due to a lack of effort. It also is a concept derived from Communism.

Equal treatment under the law means that everyone is subject to the same legal standards and principles, regardless of their background, characteristics, or status. This principle, enshrined in the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause, ensures that laws are applied equally to all citizens, preventing discrimination based on race, religion, gender, or other protected characteristics and is a noble policy.

Equity says, “From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs” and is a phrase popularized by Karl Marx. It is advocating for a social system where individuals contribute (are taxed) based on their capabilities and receive (entitlement) what they require, regardless of their contribution. This concept suggests a system where resources are distributed based on individual needs, rather than on the quantity or quality of work performed and success achieved through individual effort. It is totally the opposite of meritocracy.

Inclusion

I struggle with this concept. Primarily because I don’t understand it. I have tried, I really have. The closest understanding I can reach is, in the application of DEI, the INCLUSION part means I am expected to include everyone and anyone who desires and demands inclusion. I have no problem with that at times.

I don’t care if someone is male or female, they are a person. I don’t care if they are tall or short, Black or White, fat or skinny, muscular or weak, old or younger. Unless I am needing to lift something heavy from the floor to a relatively high shelf.

My dad had a saying “Busier than a one armed paper hanger.” It immediately conjured up an image of someone busy, but perfectly illustrates the ridiculousness of Inclusion. Would any business rationally hire a person with a speech impediment to work a phone at a call center? I have encountered it and while being polite wondered in my mind what the business was thinking.

Bottom line, if I disagree with your choices or lifestyle or message, you won’t get an invite to my house for dinner. To reciprocate, I respect you for not inviting me to your place. I won’t try to force you to embrace my beliefs and respect you for doing the same.

Let’s agree on this

In nature birds of a feather flock together. The antelope who choses to join the lion for dinner will be the most discussed and most digested. We can stay with our own respective kind, whether that means culturally, skin tone, lifestyle, sexual preference or proclivity, ethnic background, political leaning, Religious doctrine, or whatever other trait which may divide. If I go bowling, I like to do it with those who like bowling. I golf with others who enjoy golf. I do not hunt with folks who are afraid or opposed to firearms.

This doesn’t mean I can’t be a part of a larger community with diverse characteristics, cultures, appearance, etc.

So, I won’t demand you like bowling and you don’t demand I love golf. I won’t demand you attend my Baptist Bible study if you don’t demand I pray five times a day facing the east.

Let’s all agree to do our own thing and let others do the same. Kind of the old “live and let live.” But understand when I reject DEI. That pushback comes from a place of conviction. And it’s a corner you don’t want to push me into. I avoid situations where that may happen, so respect me and I will respect you.

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The Author

A product of Richmond County and lifelong Augustan, Doug Lively appreciates the value of the written word and how it marks thoughts, ideas, history and opinion for posterity. Words matter. The spoken word can be laced with inflection and expression to nuance meaning but the written word requires work to precisely relay a thought, idea or opinion. It is an art in danger of extinction.

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