Nicholas Giordano is a professor of Political Science, the host of The P.A.S. Report Podcast, and a fellow at Campus Reform’s Higher Education Fellowship.
Dozens of lives lost. Tens of thousands displaced with nothing left. Over 12,000 homes and structures reduced to ash. The devastation of the California wildfires is a reminder of the government’s most sacred obligation – to promote the general welfare of its citizens and protect them and their property from destruction. But these fires didn’t just destroy lives and homes, they also exposed the real-world consequences of basing governing policies on destructive academic theories like DEI.
While most Americans became familiar with DEI during the woke revolution of the past few years, its roots were planted decades ago on college campuses. Leftist academics championed DEI as a righteous framework that would eliminate “inequities” in society by prioritizing identity politics over merit and competency. Over time, this ideology spread beyond academia and into the halls of government, corporate America, and pop culture.
For years, DEI was championed as a progressive advancement in social justice that would right all societal wrongs. However, as with most theories that originate on college campuses, the foundations of DEI clash with the demands of the real world.
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Throughout my years as a political science professor, I have witnessed the traditional goals of education – critical thinking, intellectual growth, and problem-solving – get supplanted with an obsession over identity and activism. Standards collapsed, grade inflation surged, and student abilities declined. As DEI became the central focus on college campuses, the education system lost sight of its one true mission: to provide students with the knowledge and skills needed to succeed in their academic and professional lives. This shift undermined the purpose of higher education, but it was only a matter of time before this toxic ideology would leap from college campuses into the broader society.
Unfortunately, Californians are now experiencing firsthand the economic and social costs of a bad academic theory becoming the main driver of government policy. Nearly every government official in California has made DEI the priority, from Governor Gavin Newsom to LA fire chief Kristin Crowley. The fixation of DEI as a governing framework, where everything is viewed through an “equity and social justice lens,” has cost the people of California dearly.
Millions of taxpayer dollars have been redirected to equity initiatives, while critical needs were ignored. For example, the LA County Fire Department allotted $1.8 million taxpayer dollars to “equity and inclusion staffing continuation” even as fire trucks sat idle awaiting repairs. It’s no surprise that as California shifted the focus to DEI, emergency preparedness and wildfire prevention were neglected.
As a former emergency manager, I know firsthand how important emergency preparedness and response are to protecting lives and property. In emergency management, our mission is to safeguard communities, and success depends on thorough training, regular exercises, and resource allocation. Yet in LA County, DEI priorities usurped traditional emergency management principles so that staff are better able to “understand cultural competency, identify implicit and unconscious bias, and be aware of the importance of . . . having a diverse and inclusive workforce.”
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Officials tout their desire for the LA County Fire Department to be recognized nationally and internationally as “an agency that’s very serious about diversity, equity, and inclusion and made substantive changes so that everybody could feel safe.” I’m not sure about you, but I prefer our fire departments to be recognized for their ability to respond to emergencies, save lives, and put out fires.
Academic theories like DEI are incompatible with the realities of the real world. Our colleges and universities bear some responsibility for the culture of incompetence we now see. When DEI was contained to college campuses, its impact was limited. However, once it infiltrated government institutions and public policy, the flaws were laid bare with unforgiving consequences.
California’s wildfires should serve as a warning to the rest of America that when governments adopt academic theories that prioritize ideology over effectiveness, We the People are the ones who suffer. We can have a zero-tolerance approach toward racism and encourage opportunity for all Americans, and at the same time return to the sound principles of competency and merit. Whether it’s government or education, the focus should be on outcomes, not ideological experiments that lead to ruin!
Editorials and op-eds reflect the opinion of the authors and not necessarily that of Campus Reform or the Leadership Institute.
This article was originally published at campusreform.org
