A little lesson in language leverage.
We know from MAGA Republicans that DEI is bad. Diversity, Equity, Inclusion—the words have been attacked so long and so hard that I almost can’t stand to speak them. When I do, they leave a terrible taste in my mouth. For the MAGA Republicans, they have come to stand for all that’s wrong with the crazy radical left version of America. And the crazy radical left hates America, so the MAGA Republicans tell us.
For me, they stand for all that is good in America. But they have been misused and overused so much that we now need new words for all that’s good in America.
Here, officially, I want to propose three new words, and a new acronym. DFC. Distinctiveness, Fairness, and Comprehensiveness.
- ***Not to be confused with Distinguished Flying Cross, Digital Faith Community, or the Trump-relevant term Dementia Friendly Community
Diversity is bad. It means accepting as equals people who aren’t White Christians.
Distinctiveness is good. It means whatever makes a group or an institution uniquely itself, distinct in its makeup from any other and all others. How do you become distinct? You have a unique range of people and backgrounds that no other has. It’s not all black and white (oops, I didn’t mean to play the race card. It was a mistake!).
Equity is bad. It means admitting that people who aren’t White Christians have gotten (and are still getting) treated unfairly, and trying to do the fair thing to make it right, not just White (there I go again!).
Fairness is good. It means treating everybody the same. What’s fair is fair. We have all grown up since our childhood playground days learning—and then knowing deep down—what is fair.
Inclusion is bad. Including people who aren’t White Christians clearly alarms and some say downright harms White Christians. If you include “others” you inevitably take something away from “us.” That’s discrimination. Inclusion plus equity equals discrimination. Racial and religious discrimination! (I’m getting confused now.)
Comprehensiveness is good. It means including welcoming all (almost slipped up there!). We strive to make our lives together complete, whole, perfect! It also means comprehending, understanding all people, or trying to. These are true conservative values. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all people men are created equal” (not equitable).
Maybe we could change all those DEI offices to DFC offices. Maybe nobody could tell the difference.
Goodness! I just looked up each of these three terms in Merriam-Webster Thesaurus. And guess what? Distinctiveness is a synonym for diversity; fairness is a synonym for equity, and comprehensiveness is a synonym for—you guessed it!—inclusion.
But somehow, they sound better. They sound right (not left). And they don’t leave a bad taste in my mouth when they come out.
