{"id":1917167,"date":"2023-04-20T10:42:25","date_gmt":"2023-04-20T14:42:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bidens-racial-equity-order-threatens-the-meritocracy-that-makes-our-military-great\/"},"modified":"2023-04-20T10:45:09","modified_gmt":"2023-04-20T14:45:09","slug":"bidens-racial-equity-order-threatens-the-meritocracy-that-makes-our-military-great","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bidens-racial-equity-order-threatens-the-meritocracy-that-makes-our-military-great\/","title":{"rendered":"Biden\u2019s \u2018Racial Equity\u2019 Order Threatens The Meritocracy That Makes Our Military Great"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fbidens-racial-equity-order-threatens-the-meritocracy-that-makes-our-military-great%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1917167&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div class=\"article-content\">\n<p>On Feb. 16, President Joe Biden signed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.federalregister.gov\/documents\/2023\/02\/22\/2023-03779\/further-advancing-racial-equity-and-support-for-underserved-communities-through-the-federal\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Executive Order 14091<\/a>, titled \u201cFurther Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Biden\u2019s sweeping order multiplies and muscles up government diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) diversity-crats \u2014 the diversity-industrial complex \u2014 and makes their power bases virtually permanent.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2-long d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-111953394\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1379703300879-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div  class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-a50c450794b442fa3ce0452dedc823f1 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-a50c450794b442fa3ce0452dedc823f1\"><\/div>\n<p>The order also bestows special status and benefits on favored groups, called \u201cunderserved communities,\u201d while excluding everyone else. Why now?<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps the administration is anticipating adverse Supreme Court decisions, expected in June, in two cases challenging racial preferences at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina (Harvard\/UNC). \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>As reported <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2022\/12\/02\/our-military-needs-officers-chosen-for-their-qualifications-not-skin-color\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">previously,<\/a> Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) is representing higher-scoring Asian and white students who sued the schools for discriminatory admission policies.<\/p>\n<p>The Department of Defense is not a party to the litigation, but in oral arguments last October, U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar admitted that the military employs discriminatory policies to achieve racial \u201cdiversity\u201d at the military service academies and in ROTC (contract) programs. Prelogar further claimed without evidence that discriminatory policies to achieve demographic diversity are essential for national security.<\/p>\n<div  class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-29e42f23bc939afccfb4d70f46a97825 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-6\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-29e42f23bc939afccfb4d70f46a97825\"><\/div>\n<p>The Supreme Court\u2019s decision is unknown, but if the justices decide racial discrimination in higher education is unconstitutional, the administrators will try to find loopholes and ambiguities that distinguish their own discriminatory practices from those of the Harvard\/UNC defendants.<\/p>\n<p>John B. Daukas has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/racial-preferences-and-the-fainthearted-supreme-court-harvard-unc-bakke-race-diversity-title-vi-roberts-11673642764?mod=trending_now_opn_4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">noted<\/a> that even after the landmark 1954 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.history.com\/news\/brown-v-board-of-education-the-first-step-in-the-desegregation-of-americas-schools\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>Brown v. Board of Education<\/em><\/a> ruling, some school districts kept discriminating.<\/p>\n<p>Now comes this new Executive Order 14091. As stated in this <a href=\"https:\/\/cmrlink.org\/data\/sites\/85\/CMRDocuments\/CMR%20Policy%20Analysis%20March%202023.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Center for Military Readiness policy analysis<\/a>, with a stroke of his pen Biden established a powerful DEI bureaucracy designed to continue racial discrimination, no matter what the Supreme Court says.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Biden\u2019s Bigger Government<\/h2>\n<p>The scope of the order is limitless. It establishes equity action teams in every federal government department and agency, directing them to implement an \u201cambitious, whole-of-government approach to racial equity.\u201d<\/p>\n<div  class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-07f249b0dc744235462cd3b5fbbeb683 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-10\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-07f249b0dc744235462cd3b5fbbeb683\"><\/div>\n<p>Color-conscious decisions will govern programs related to everything from climate change and artificial intelligence algorithms to community wealth-building and transgender interventions for vulnerable children and adults.<\/p>\n<p>All DEI teams will report to a White House Steering Committee headed by diversity doyenne Susan Rice. The order also expands an existing corps of chief diversity officers (CDOs) who review all promotions to ensure support for the DEI agenda.<\/p>\n<p>The order defines \u201cunderserved communities\u201d with a paragraph-long list that includes black, Latino, indigenous, Native American, and LGBT people, rural and U.S. territory residents, persons with disabilities, and many others. Conspicuously missing from the list of favored groups are healthy white males who are young or middle age, financially secure, Christian, and English-language proficient.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEquity\u201d is not the same as \u201cequality.\u201d Deliberate discrimination against non-minorities, in pursuit of ideological goals, squarely fits the definition of woke-ism: leftist policies taken to extremes with coerced compliance, even if it hurts the institution.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Military Cultural Values Under Attack<\/h2>\n<p>Biden\u2019s power grab will affect all Americans, but the consequences of outcome-based \u201cequity\u201d mandates that treat some people as \u201cmore equal\u201d than others will be most severe in our military.<\/p>\n<p>House Armed Services Personnel Subcommittee Chairman James Banks has expressed concern about the Pentagon\u2019s declining <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailysignal.com\/2023\/03\/24\/4-takeaways-as-lawmakers-probe-pentagons-diversity-equity-inclusion-efforts\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">respect for meritocratic values<\/a>. And combat veterans Rep. Mike Waltz and retired Maj. Gen. Patrick Brady have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/the-military-should-stay-colorblind-race-dod-army-navy-air-force-racial-preferences-dei-e64ead41\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">warned<\/a> that policies focusing on skin color or other inconsequential characteristics are threatening essential elements of military culture: color-blindness, selflessness, and mutual trust.<\/p>\n<p>Equity mandates that elevate percentage-based \u201cmetrics\u201d (quotas) over meritocracy weaken mutual trust, cohesion, and the selfless warrior ethic that unites and inspires troops in battle.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Need for Congress to Intervene<\/h2>\n<p>Congress has the power of the purse and the constitutional authority to make sound policies for the military. Members should start by defunding the diversity-industrial complex, which has become something of a racket.<\/p>\n<p>Following Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin\u2019s mandatory anti-extremism stand-downs in 2021, an investigation found <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2022\/01\/13\/the-pentagons-efforts-to-root-out-political-extremism-almost-entirely-ignore-the-left\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">fewer than 100 cases<\/a> of \u201cextremism\u201d in the ranks. A recent <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2023\/02\/22\/air-force-dei-social-media-twitter\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">RAND study<\/a> searched for offensive speech in Air Force social media posts but found almost none.<\/p>\n<p>The Daily Caller <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2023\/03\/15\/air-force-diversity-workforce-pentagon\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reported<\/a> that the Air Force is hiring DEI officers at salary rates ranging from $82,000 to $183,500 per year, even though <a href=\"https:\/\/scholar.harvard.edu\/files\/dobbin\/files\/an2018.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">numerous studies<\/a> have questioned the efficacy of \u201canti-bias\u201d training.<\/p>\n<p>Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, are re-submitting <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/politics\/2023\/02\/01\/exclusive-chip-roy-introduces-bill-to-eliminate-chief-diversity-officers-and-advisors-at-the-pentagon\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">legislation<\/a> to abolish Pentagon DEI advisers and chief diversity officers, but Congress also needs to protect meritocracy in the military, which is under attack.<\/p>\n<p>Non-discrimination policies that recognize merit often create diversity, but the constantly repeated mantra of Pentagon leaders, \u201cDiversity is a strategic imperative,\u201d undermines meritocracy as a cultural value. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Executive Order 14091 defines \u201cequity\u201d as <em>\u201c<\/em>the consistent and systematic treatment of all individuals in a fair, just, and impartial manner, including individuals who belong to communities that often have been denied such treatment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The phrase \u201call individuals\u201d is misleading because the clear intent of the order, from title to glossary, is to elevate ideology and group rights above merit and individual rights. Wiggle words in the definition of \u201cequity\u201d may have been inserted to inoculate the order against charges that it violates principles of equal protection and is therefore unconstitutional.<\/p>\n<p>The order also claims its mandates are \u201cpermitted by law\u201d or \u201cconsistent with applicable law.\u201d But there is a catch. The government wants to continue discriminating.<\/p>\n<p>When individuals file lawsuits challenging discrimination, the government will claim that the <em>absence <\/em>of any law forbidding such practices authorizes continued color-conscious decisions.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">DEI vs. Meritocracy<\/h2>\n<p>The tenor and context of the entire DEI program aim to achieve \u201cracial equity\u201d for favored \u201cunderserved communities.\u201d This belies any hope of equal treatment for excluded non-minority individuals or sound priorities that put military necessity first.<\/p>\n<p>Absent congressional action, meritocratic values \u2014 essential elements of military culture \u2014 could be lost in a single generation.<\/p>\n<p>Members of Congress should seek bipartisan support for efforts to defund and eliminate DEI power bases, mandates, and practices, while codifying principles of meritocracy and non-discrimination in military personnel policies. A successful two-pronged approach could lead to more positive actions that could break the back of the diversity-industrial complex.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<div  class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-72d0a4feb6e6ad721b88bf42e3230cce fdrlst__b89e9-after-post-content\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-72d0a4feb6e6ad721b88bf42e3230cce\"><\/div>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">   Elaine Donnelly is President of the Center for Military Readiness, an independent public policy organization that reports on and analyzes military and social issues.<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-tags bdr-top-black mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-15 pt-md-45\">\n<ul class=\"list-unstyled d-flex flex-wrap align-items-center mb-0 mx-n10 p-0\">\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/brown-v-board-of-education\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Brown v. Board of Education<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/chief-diversity-officers\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">chief diversity officers<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/dei\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">DEI<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/department-of-defense\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Department of Defense<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/diversity\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">diversity<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/elizabeth-prelogar\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Elizabeth Prelogar<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/equity\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">equity<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/equity-action-teams\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">equity action teams<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/executive-order-14091\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Executive Order 14091<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/inclusion\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">inclusion<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/james-banks\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">James Banks<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/joe-biden\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Joe Biden<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/lloyd-austin\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Lloyd Austin<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/mike-waltz\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Mike Waltz<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/military-readiness\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">military readiness<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/national-security\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">national security<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/patrick-brady\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Patrick Brady<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/race\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Race<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/students-for-fair-admissions\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Students for Fair Admissions<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/supreme-court\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Supreme Court<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On Feb. 16, President Joe Biden signed Executive Order 14091, titled \u201cFurther Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government.\u201d Biden\u2019s sweeping order multiplies and muscles up government diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) diversity-crats \u2014 the diversity-industrial complex \u2014 and makes their power bases virtually permanent. The order also bestows special<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":504,"featured_media":1917168,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[3706,10708,18925,4505,5125,4622],"class_list":["post-1917167","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist","tag-bidens","tag-equity","tag-meritocracy","tag-military","tag-racial","tag-threatens"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1917167","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/504"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1917167"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1917167\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1917168"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1917167"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1917167"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1917167"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}