A few weeks ago I wrote of the demise of the destructive and debilitating social program known as DEI – an acronym for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Within days I saw a NEWSMAX magazine article “Divisive, Extreme, and Intolerant” with a subtitle of “That’s what DEI has become. And conservatives are no longer the only skeptics.” That article concluded “The death of DEI isn’t a tragedy – it’s an opportunity.”

 Maybe you remember comments from Florida Governor Ron DeSantis at the 2024 Republican National Convention: “DEI stands for ‘division, exclusion, and indoctrination’”. In that speech DeSantis said “We believe schools should educate, not indoctrinate.” and “We support law and order, not rioting and disorder.”

 But I digress to repeating “Goodbye DEI” from my current intent of saying “Hello MEI”. MEI is an acronym for Merit, Excellence and Intelligence. MEI means selecting the best candidate without considering demographics. One expert stated that MEI promotes equality based on actual performance not some DEI mandate.

 Paul L. Caron, the Dean of Pepperdine Caruso School of Law, wrote a Wall Street Journal article “Merit, Excellence And Intelligence: An Anti-DEI Approach Catches On In Companies—Is Higher Education Next?” In it he comments “Some job seekers –mostly white guys—tell me they hope MEI catches on. They fill my inbox with stories of being passed over for jobs and promotions because, in their view, companies are determined to hire woman and people of color.”

 Elon Musk has endorsed MEI. But the name most closely associated with the development of MEI seems to be Alexandr Wang. Wang’s resume is interesting as he dropped out of college (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) and is now the Chief Executive of Scale AI. Along the way Wang became the world’s youngest self-made billionaire at age 25. He has been on the cover of Forbes magazine. Wang has written “We believe that people should be judged by the content of their character --- and, as colleagues, be additionally judged by their talents, skills, and work ethic.” He further noted “No group has a monopoly on excellence.”

  This causes me to think about the famous Martin Luther King, Jr. quotation that comes from his August 28, 1963 speech at the Lincoln Memorial: “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”

As one blog concluded “Corporate America: bring back merit based hiring, focused on excellence and intelligence. The DEI agenda is discriminatory, harmful, and does no one any good.”

If DEI is bad for corporate America and America’s higher education, then it is bad for local governments and public education as well. If MEI works for corporate America, then it should work for local government and all American education too.

 I’ll conclude as I concluded the previous article. With the spring elections coming soon, it is time for “We the People” to get engaged – again! Dig a little deeper than what I have shared on DEI and MEI and then question your local candidates for municipal and county governments to include local School Boards of Education. Don’t forget to ask the candidates for the State Superintendent of Public Instruction a few questions too!