These programs were not only racist and biased, but they were also disastrous from inception and now we are seeing some of the effect. Who knows how many tragic outcomes — such as all the recent aviation fatalities — are due to DEI. Now in fairness, I can’t say for sure that any of these accidents were due to DEI, but we will know soon. We do know that many private companies tried adopting these policies and they have quickly abandoned them for one simple reason: they don’t work.

It is ironic to me that the most famed minority leader of my day, Martin Luther King Jr., would not be in favor of these racist programs. In his famous “I have a dream” speech, he said “I have a dream, that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but the content of their character.” That is my dream too. I think that a person should not be judged by his or her gender, sexual preferences or religion. Where, in the job world, we are “blind” to all these issues, but we only look at two things: merit and performance.

Currently in the NBA, 70% of the players are black, 17% white and 10% multiracial. But in the most recent U.S. census the ratio was 60% white, 19% Hispanic or Latino and 12.6% Black. Can you imagine a world where the teams under DEI program would have to hire and fire based on race and keeping the proper ratios? And don’t forget homosexual and transgender percentages. Teams would be searching for players to be added to their team not based on needs of the team but on race or ethnicity and sexual orientation. But that is not happening in the NBA. Why? Because players are chosen based on talent and merit and meeting the needs of the team.

John Kennedy, the senator from Louisiana, said it best: “the best way to stop discriminating against people on the basis of race and gender, is to stop discriminating against people on the basis  of race and gender.” So simple yet profound. Americans deserve the best most qualified people, particularly at critical roles where many people’s lives are at risk, such as pilots and air traffic controllers and engineers building bridges and high-rise buildings and doctors. I personally think that we should not ask about race or ethnicity or sexual orientation on job applications. You can’t ask about religion, why should you be able to ask about these things? Personally, I am glad to see the end of blatant discrimination. There is a new sheriff in town, and he wants DEI to DIE.

David Lawson, MD
Lake Junaluska