Webloggin » The Diversity Crowd Should Take Its Own Advice

Since I haven’t been able to post as much while we move, etc. I decided to post a couple of articles I wrote for newspapers that were never posted on this site.

For years now we’ve all been preached to relentlessly about the importance of diversity in all areas of life. But what is really meant when the term “diversity” is used in public discourse today? Sadly, the true meaning given to the word is quite a bit different than its proponents will openly admit.

At Howell High School in Michigan, administrators allowed a diversity flag to be flown as part of a display representing student organizations but have refused to approve the flag from the Traditional Values Club. When the idea for including the Traditional Values Club was presented, a fairly large group of faculty raised concerns that it would violate the separation of church and state.

This decision is completely unjustifiable. Howell High has created a situation where the school is willing to promote the liberal values of the Diversity Club while at the same time censoring the students in the Traditional Values Club. In other words, it is perfectly acceptable for a person to condemn religion in a public school despite the fact that religious students are forbidden from speaking out in support of their beliefs.

Anyway you look at it; this situation is a blatant infringement of the U.S. Constitution. The current double-standard is most certainly a violation of the students’ right to free speech and free exercise of religion. Even if you choose to judge this through the lens of the separation of church and state, Howell High School is promoting no religion (or hostility towards religion) over the practice of religion.

In its article on this story, the Livingston County Daily Press & Argus started to get at the real issue here:

Cathy Capy, faculty adviser for the Diversity Club, wouldn’t comment on whether she supported the Traditional Values Club flag, but that she has heard students say it’s one thing to have a flag that stands for diversity, but quite another to have an “overtly religious symbol” that excludes certain groups.

So the logic coming from supporters of the diversity flag is that it is appropriate for the school because it represents acceptance and inclusiveness. Unfortunately, that unwavering commitment to tolerance somehow does not include the Traditional Values Club. It’s ironic that diversity advocates are so angry with some religious organizations because their values exclude certain groups (homosexuals) when the beliefs of the Diversity Club itself exclude certain groups (Christians).

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