It's Common Sense

A Simple Approach to Counter Toxic Messaging

(Enjoy this essay as read by the writer!)

Here’s How! 1908, Puck Magazine Cover J. Keppler Jr. PUBLIC DOMAIN WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Hello, Friend,

I’ve been thinking further about the complexities of the current siege on our republic, especially the way the ‘culture wars’ have been weaponized to distract, divide, and disconnect us. D.E.I., an acronym for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, represents the ideas that we should strive to reflect the diversity in our society, reach for equity for every citizen, and, in doing so, become more inclusive. Through toxic messaging, this acronym has been turned into a word, used as a noun and an adjective, defined by the far right propaganda machine as a palpable threat to the well being of white men. A word shouted by fragile, insecure, entitled power grabbers, who insist they’re the victims of some imaginary left wing conspiracy while they attack every decent aspect of our modern American society. Meanwhile, our government is being deconstructed, legal immigrants are being disappeared without due process, people are being fired without cause or explanation, history is being erased, free speech is being silenced, and private institutions and citizens are being strong armed under the guise of rooting out the mysterious and ever evolving boogeyman of DEI and its sidekick, woke.

Effective counter messaging is not that complex. It doesn’t require convoluted mental gymnastics to understand the twisting of language and reality. We don’t have to twist anything. It’s simple, straightforward, and clear.

It’s common sense.

It’s common sense that we should strive in all things to recognize and celebrate diversity. Doing so has been proven to strengthen organizations and our society at large. We are a diverse nation and becoming more so with every passing year. That is not a threat, that’s a gift! A variety of perspectives increases the variety of pathways forward, offering more potential and more possibility. That is our greatest strength, not our weakness. Embracing it is logical.

It’s common sense.

It’s common sense to reach for equity for every citizen, because not doing so perpetuates the systemic inequities that hold entire communities in endless cycles of generational poverty and hopelessness. Rising tides lift all boats, anchors drag them down. We need to recognize the struggles of people in places that have been devastated over decades by job loss, rising costs of living, stagnant wages, drug addiction, inequities in education, and the loss of opportunity. In our inner cities, in our rural regions, in our once thriving manufacturing cities and towns, America has not been working for everyone. These inequities have created hopelessness and anger. This is how the culture wars are used to divert attention from the class war, where the true inequities continue to proliferate. This is why we must do what we can to lift everyone up, because doing so makes us greater.

It’s common sense.

It’s common sense to include everyone, because the people you exclude may very well be the people who could create the solutions that benefit us all. Our table is as big as we imagine it to be and there is room for everyone to come together and work towards a brighter tomorrow. Inclusion allows us to tap into that infinite potential. It’s also common sense to care for those who are unable to care for themselves, because empathy is a strength, kindness is essential, and a society is measured by the manner in which it cares for every citizen, especially those who cannot care for themselves.

It’s common sense.

Governments cannot be run like corporations. Corporations are capitalist systems designed to protect and enrich CEOs, executives, and stockholders, regardless of how that impacts the rest of us. They’re focused on efficiencies, profits, and bottom lines. They are, essentially, psychopathic, because the negative ramifications of these focus points aren’t factored into the equation without regulation and oversight. That is where government comes in. Yes it can be clunky and complicated and slow, but the idea that a corporate approach to restructuring will advance our nation is a dangerous fallacy. A government is a coalition formed to foster a thriving society. It is an organic system designed to enrich the lives of every individual citizen. The focus points are creating opportunities, ensuring the well being of the citizenry, and continuously improving the conditions of the nation as a whole.

It’s common sense.

The culture wars are a purposeful distraction from the class war. The chainsaw driven corporate approach to ‘restructuring’ our government is a smokescreen for the further (and final) transfer of wealth to the top 1%. It’s a scam, a sham, and a shame. We are being distracted, divided, and disconnected by ideas that are utter nonsense being put forth by nonsensical, impulsive, nearsighted, selfish, greedy people who have no intention of improving any aspects of our lives. They are the fraud. They are vultures. Nothing that they do or say makes any sense, because they have no plan beyond tearing it apart and selling it to the highest bidder.

The most effective way to counteract that messaging is to speak simple truth. We need to reach out to those who feel disenfranchised and disillusioned. We need to recognize their pain and assuage their fears. We need to offer sensible solutions. We need to explain the importance of continuing to strive for diversity, equity, and inclusion in order to form a more perfect union, the things that threaten the vultures the most. We need to take these concepts back and redefine them. We need to articulate the simple logic of why they matter in the individual and collective pictures. We must help people see that diversity, equity, and inclusion are about every single one of us, and the power we hold collectively. In doing so, we must work to build the biggest table we can imagine and invite as many people to join us as possible.

That is the way forward.

It’s common sense.

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