In the DC crash, the toxicity of DEI rears its ugly head

DEI initiatives call into question the abilities of anyone advanced due to its mandates

“There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them.”

CS Lewis

It is undeniable that one of today’s ‘devils’ is the philosophy of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Taken alone, each of these words carry generally positive meaning. United as a phrase, however, universally referred to simply as “DEI,” they have become a pejorative.

DEI signals an unhealthy interest in, some would say obsession with, race and racism. Only a blind fool would deny that both exist in the US today. There will always be those who would reduce people to race, just as there will always be those who reduce people to other immutable demographic categories, be they gender, ethnicity, or something else. On the other hand, it is equally wrong to focus on race and racism as the underlying cause of all of society’s ills.

The recent tragic crash of a military helicopter with a commercial airliner in Washington, DC is a perfect example of the true toxicity of DEI. One may regard President Trump’s assertion that DEI played a role in this crash and his words ill-considered and inflammatory. I know and accept Trump’s tendency to shoot from the hip as part of his package, but if I am honest, I must admit that one of my first thoughts on hearing of the crash was whether the DEI initiatives adopted by the Federal Aviation Administration as far back as the Obama administration and promoted aggressively by the Biden White House may have played a role in this crash. The same goes for the military.

Analogous to CS Lewis’ take regarding devils, we can make two mistakes regarding racism- one is to ignore it altogether and the other is to focus on it to the exclusion of other causes of disparities. DEI does the latter.

I believe that most people are reasonable and would agree that we must not jump to conclusions regarding the cause(s) of this crash until all the facts are in. I choose not to speculate but here is where the two-fold toxicity of DEI rears its ugly head. I cannot help myself in asking, were any of the principals involved- the pilots or air traffic controllers, DEI hires?

The ultimate goal of DEI is proportionate representation. Every profession must perfectly mirror the demographics of the US. If there are not 13% blacks, then racism is to blame, and this must be corrected at all costs. Unfortunately, the only way to do this quickly, and without addressing the myriad other causes of disparities, is to lower standards. Merit based hiring practices and focusing on excellence first and foremost must be subserved to the goal of DEI. In professions where these are not just essential but critical, such as in aviation and my own profession, medicine, this is unacceptable.

Lowered standards mean lower quality. It is really that simple. DEI demands mean that less qualified individuals are admitted, hired, or advanced not because of merit, but because they check off demographic boxes. We saw this most explicitly in the Biden administration with the choice of Kamala Harris for vice-president and Ketanji Jackson Brown’s appointment to the Supreme Court. Both were explicitly chosen, first and foremost because they were women of color. This is not to say that either was unqualified, only that their other qualifications were secondary.

This is where the real toxicity of DEI comes into play. Anyone hired to fulfill DEI requirements will forever be under a cloud of suspicion that they really did not make it on their merit and competence alone but rather from relaxed standards to compensate for their demographic underrepresentation.

It would be nice to know in advance that the investigation of the DC crash will not be tainted with findings that DEI initiatives played a role in the tragedy. Just as I don’t want to see a racist behind every disparity, I don’t want to see a DEI hire behind every tragedy.

Richard T. Bosshardt, MD, FACS, Senior Fellow at Do No Harm, Founding Fellow of FAIR in Medicine.

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