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Jewish World Review Jan. 16, 2002 / 3 Shevat, 5762

Marc Berley

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Consumer Reports


FDNY 'diversity' divides


http://www.jewishworldreview.com -- REMEMBER the day after Sept. 11, back when every American had a sinking heart? Three New York City firefighters raised Old Glory above the burning rubble that was once the Twin Towers, raising the spirit of every American with it. In the early hours of the attack upon America, it was a defining, memorable moment. Unfortunately, it will not be remembered, at least not by the statue made to memorialize it.

Dan McWilliams, George Johnson and Billy Eisengrein, those three brave debris-covered firemen who raised all our hopes, are white. But the 19-foot bronze statue erected to memorialize their patriotic heroism will represent one white, one black, and one Hispanic firefighter. History will be rewritten.

According to FDNY spokesman Frank Gribbon, "a decision was made to honor no one in particular, but everyone who made the supreme sacrifice."

No one wants to inject race when discussing heroism, but race has been injected by the decision to change facts in the interest of symbolism, to rewrite history in the name of diversity.

The argument for changing the statue goes as follows: "The symbolism is far more important than representing the actual people," said Kevin James, a black firefighter. "I think the artistic expression of diversity would supersede any concern over factual correctness."

But facts do matter -- especially when you're talking about history, or a moment powerful for its specificity:

One man, on the right, squinting against the sun as he pulls the cord that raises Old Glory up the leaning, uprooted pole;

One man, center, guiding the same cord, standing beside the leaning pole, looking straight up at the flag;

One man, on the left, hands at his sides, his head severely tilted so he can gaze in awe at the flag climbing the pole leaning above him.

Change one detail, facial features included, and you change everything.

Firefighters McWilliams, Johnson and Eisengrein were there. Other firefighters could have been there, perhaps black, perhaps Hispanic -- perhaps Asian, perhaps female, perhaps Arab-American. But they were not.

McWiliams, Johnson, and Eisengrein were the moment. But on the statue they will not all be there. Two of them (perhaps all three), only because they are white, will be excluded from the memorial of their transcendent deed -- in the name of diversity.

The diversity movement has long fought the idea of a colorblind society, obstructing the sense of commonality that defined America's response to Sept. 11. Thus the word diversity has been losing its magic, as DiversityInc.com writer Jordan T. Pine observes in his article "Spreading Diversity Values without Using the 'D' Word." General Motors, Pine reports, has shifted to the word inclusion. But the principle will remain the same. Next you hear about inclusion -- a.k.a. diversity -- remember this: It is based on exclusion. Inclusion in the name of diversity arbitrarily excludes some people to make room for other people of selected races or ethnicities. Such social engineering appears utopian to the social engineers. Unfortunately, it harms individuals.

No one should oppose inclusion of an additional statue that depicts the brotherhood and sisterhood of humankind, one that represents symbolically the diverse population any enemy attacks when it attacks America. But such a statue should never replace, or exclude, a historical statue based on the particular act we wish to memorialize.

In the wake of Sept. 11, the diversity movement should move beyond its own intolerance. In that wonderful image of McWilliams, Johnson and Eisengrein raising the flag, every American, regardless of race or ethnicity, should see his or her color -- in the flag, the rising flag. And if they don't, what could any statue do?



JWR contributor Marc Berley, president of the Foundation for Academic Standards & Tradition, is author of After the Heavenly Tune and co-editor of The Diversity Hoax. Comment by clicking here.

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09/20/01: Because We're America

© 2001, Marc Berley