Is Diversity A Virtue? Poem by David Welch

It seems a common point of view
that ‘diversity' is a virtue,
is this a truth that should be sun,
or just a line we feed the young?

Is diversity excellence?
No, it's a description of difference,
there's no moral value in that,
nothing to make it good or bad.

I think the real problem begins
when ‘diversity is tied to skin,
skin does not determine your mind,
no value in it will you find.

But they claim it's ‘identity, '
which seems very racist to me,
and by insisting on this lie,
folks judge by skin, not what's inside.

Which makes us cast suspicious flares,
and burdens us with endless cares.
Did we speak wrong? Did we offend?
We're so bound up we can't be friends.

All these results, so damn perverse,
from a shallow reading of ‘diverse.'
I think it is a better call
to just judge the individual.

But moving past a person's hide,
to where out cultures do abide,
is diversity good for us?
I think that's a mixed bag because

All cultures out there aren't the same,
some function well, some are insane.
from the former we often learn,
the later make us crash and burn.

But point that out and some get mad,
don't want those cultures to ‘feel bad, '
then they denigrate those that work,
let the failed ideas drive things berserk.

They think failed cultures are ‘oppressed, '
and like to blame those that work best,
so that we cannot appreciate
good ideas we should assimilate.

For cultures and diversity,
it's only virtue when we judge free.
but this ties to another thing:
Diversity of our thinking.

Our ideas and their differences,
can gives us all more tools, not less.
Unique approaches, philosophies,
can fill in where we cannot see.

New ideas to which we can appeal
to solve the challenge of the real,
but this diversity they hate,
they call it ‘fascist' and berate

any who will not board their boat,
and sail upon the ship of ‘woke.'
The one diversity that's fine
they curse as hateful and malign.

Yet still it's important to us,
and should be seen as virtuous,
the diversity that should be taught
is free diversity of thought.