Almost everywhere you look these days, you find “diversity training.” It’s all the rage in corporate America and our educational institutions. Diversity trainers pull in lots of money for blathering away about power differentials, intersectionality, white privilege, and so on. There’s no evidence that it does a scintilla of good. If it accomplishes anything, it’s to instill a sense of grievance and to divide people along racial and ethnic lines.
I’m glad to say that there is one organization at least that is doing the very opposite. The Freedom & Virtue Institute has a program called “Commonality Training.”
What’s wrong with “diversity training”? The institute states, “Frustration abut the task of avoiding stereotypes or fear of offending others weakens productivity. Even after much training, individuals feel misunderstood, mistreated, or disrespected. They feel as if the training is merely an exercise in political correctness and the company is legislating inclusion.”
Indubitably correct.
Rather than emphasizing divisions, commonality training “explores what makes every person we meet an amazing expression of humanity.” I think that most Americans used to get that before the “diversity” crowd began its project of sowing discord to advance the statist agenda about 25 years ago.
If this country ever gets back on track, a crucial element will be a restoration of the Adam Smithian idea that we can all cooperate for mutual benefit. Bravo to the Freedom & Virtue Institute for working to bring that about.