Diversity Prop by Jonah Goldberg on National Review Online Jonah Goldberg NRO Editor at Large June03,2003,0:15p.m Diversity prop Grace on the cheap By Jonah goldberg L et me just say it up front: My problem isn 't with diversity, it's with propaganda The rest, as they say, is commentary So let's get going with the commentary Diversity isn't an unqualified good. In fact, save for a few pedantic exceptions God. wisdom. etc here are no unqua lified goods. Tolerance is bad if you tolerate e vl. d emocracy is a p roblem if it b ecomes t yrannical, w hich it m ost certainly can. Law can be"a ass "D issent isn't necessarily h eroic. For every Mandela, Gandhi, or Thoreau there are 1, 000-no, 10,000- drooling morons jabbering misfits, and opponents of progress with equal claim to the title"dissenter, dissident, ""protester, rebel, "or non-conformist. "When a group or society is heading in the right direction, the maverick is no hero for telling everyone to turn around. Even Irish whiskey, taken to an extreme, can be a problem Diversity is another of those words we imbue with all nobility and goodness without question or re servation. A nd t hat's nons ense. I f di versity were a lways a nd everywhere good we would be clamoring for more midgets in the NBa. We would demand that mobsters get jobs at the Fbi and we would consider it a grave problem that not enough blind men -and women!- were applying to be crossing guards, snipers, and surgeons Indeed if diversity were always a boon to the educational process, we would decry the g hettos o f b ackwardness we call all-women s co leges an d h istorically b lack universities. After all. are not blacks and women in the most need of educational support? Lee Bollinger, the former pre sident of the U niversity of Michigan(and current president of Columbia University) recently declaredJune 03, 2003, 0:15 p.m. Grace on the cheap. By Jonah Goldberg et me just say it up front: My problem isn't with diversity, it's with propaganda. The rest, as they say, is commentary. So let's get going with the commentary. Diversity isn't an unqualified good. In fact, save for a few pedantic exceptions — God, wisdom, etc. — there are no unqualified goods. T olerance is bad if you tolerate e vil. D emocracy is a p roblem if it b ecomes t yrannical, w hich it m ost certainly can . Law can b e "a as s." D issent i sn't n ecessarily h eroic. F or ev ery Mandela, Gandhi, or Thoreau there are 1,000 — no, 10,000 — drooling morons, jabbering misfits, and opponents of progress with equal claim to the title "dissenter," "dissident," "protester," "rebel," or "non-conformist." When a group or society is heading in the right direction, the maverick is no hero for telling everyone to turn around. Even Irish whiskey, taken to an extreme, can be a problem. Diversity is another of those words we imbue with all nobility and goodness without question or re servation. A nd t hat's nons ense. I f di versity w ere a lways a nd everywhere good we would be clamoring for more midgets in the NBA. We would demand that mobsters get jobs at the FBI and we would consider it a grave problem that not enough blind men — and women! — were applying to be crossing guards, snipers, and surgeons. Indeed, if diversity were always a boon to the educational process, we would decry the ghettos o f b ackwardness we call all-women's co lleges an d h istorically b lack universities. After all, are not blacks and women in the most need of educational support? Lee Bollinger, the former president of the University of Michigan (and current president of Columbia University) recently declared: Diversity Prop by Jonah Goldberg on National Review Online 1 of 5