TOWNSHEND-Several weeks ago, a Peruvian fisherman, stranded in the ocean for months, was miraculously found by the crew of an Ecuadorian boat. They plucked him out of the water, and he survived to be reunited with his family.
I'm quite sure that those Ecuadorians never thought for a second not to rescue this man, but imagine the uproar if they had. They did what was right because they could, and this is not unusual.
Most people mean well. In fact, we hear stories all the time about good samaritans, some of whom rise to the level of heroes. And why? Because they can.
The United States of America is the richest country in the world. The majority can support their own needs as well as helping out those who are needier. We can support education no matter how a person learns. We can support our youngest as well as our oldest. We can support our health workers, our firefighters, our veterans, our scientists, our police - the list can go on and on.
We are seeing a perversion of government as agencies are being gutted and thousands of families are being thrown into upheaval. Setting up this fiasco was the elimination of agencies/individuals that would have overseen positive government changes. We know these decisions are capricious and arbitrary because they are often done illegally, lacking evidentiary support and transparency, and with no expressions of sympathy.
It is clear that Elon Musk, the individual primarily responsible for these decisions, lacks empathy and has a very limited understanding of governmental operations. And why should he? He is unelected and untrained for the job.
The impulsive nature of these actions is demonstrated by how often Musk and his team feel compelled to backtrack. So much of what they are doing is rationalized by their reactions to diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives (DEI).
A federal lawsuit against a chemical company in Louisiana has been withdrawn - by the DOJ's own admission, because most the people affected by this pollution are Black and they consider it a DEI situation.
An Idaho teacher is being told to remove a poster that says "Everyone is welcome here." The words are fine, according to the administrator, but since there are also a dozen or so hands in a full spectrum of skin tones, the poster needs to go.
Who are we kidding? "DEI" has come to describe a blatant anti–civil rights agenda.
When we delete stories of women or Blacks or Native Americans from the websites of the Defense Department or Arlington National Cemetery, we are dishonoring those who should be honored, and we are literally losing sight of many role models to the detriment of all of us - particularly those of us who fall into those categories.
But that's the idea, right? Cultural diversity is viewed negatively. It's mean, it's shameful, and it is intentional.
And why are these damaged individuals doing this?
Ironically, it is because they can.
So . . . what are you going to do?
Paul Weber
Townshend
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