Dick Yarbrough’s column in the 2/26/25 edition of the Times-Enterprise titled, “Joining those who are saying goodbye to DEI,” caught my attention and left me wondering if he was “for” DEI or “against” it.

DEI is not a word, though it is being used as a word: a “curse” word, one that viscerally provokes disgust…a tactic Satan uses to divide God’s people from God and from each other.

I’m 88 years old. Back in the day, in Civics class and church, we learned some valuable lessons:

That the “E Pluribus Unum” on our currency meant that in America, from many “tribes” we become “one,” a “melting pot” of diverse citizens. That was the mosaic that distinguished America and made us exceptional.

We learned that ours was Government “Of the people, By the people and For the people”…ALL the people.

That the Statue of Liberty beckoned, “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled [diverse] masses yearning to breathe free,” meaning y’all foreigners come join us.

That “In God We Trust” inscribed on our currency, meant God (Creator of diversity) loves us ALL equally.

So now those mottos and slogans have devolved into DEI. The opposite of “diversity” is sameness; opposite of “equity” is favoritism; opposite of “inclusion” is exclusion.

I went to the web, typed DEI, and got this: “Early DEI efforts included the preferential hiring to veterans of the US Civil War and their widows in 1865. In 1876, this was amended to give preference to veterans during a Reduction in Force. In 1921 and 1929, executive orders by Presidents Coolidge and Harding established ten-point preference for veterans toward exams and hiring criteria for federal employment. In 1944, the Veterans Preference Act codified the previous executive orders, clarified criteria, and included special hiring provisions for disabled veterans. Later amendments added veterans from conflicts after World War II, special provisions for the mothers of disabled or deceased veterans and job-specific training for veterans entering the federal or private workforce.”

On and on web article went, noting how (in the 70’s, 80’s and beyond) Presidents and Congresses authorized “preferences” for certain marginalized, historically un-represented groups. And never do I recall hearing any backlash over those DEI initiatives… until now when (for political purposes) that practice has been linked to “race,” an invented term, provoking disgust.

Well now that DEI has become a divisive term, what are we to do with its past beneficiaries: veterans, their wives and mothers, the blind, people with other disabilities, etc.? Seek them out and claw back their benefits? Should we disavow our mottos and slogans? Did God make a mistake in creating us diverse?

So before joining Mr. Yarbrough, “saying goodbye to DEI,” let’s make Satan mad. Let’s avoid using that term to divide us.

DEI is in America’s DNA; it’s not a National weakness, it’s a God-ordained strength.

-Frederick A. Drayton, Sr.

U.S. Army Veteran

Thomasville