To the editor:

The Barrington DEI Committee, henceforth referred to as B-DEI, has shown another documentary in their film series. To nobody's surprise, it was another America-hating, divisive piece of trash, full of half-truths, out-of-context "facts," and other anecdotes that portray America as, you guessed it - a racist, hateful, and horrible nation.

The film was titled: "Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America". To be clear, there is nothing wrong with honestly and openly examining our past, but when your group is only willing to focus on America's sins, and excludes the voices of those who want to share other perspectives, it becomes pretty revealing regarding "Who THEY Are" as a group. 

To wit, we barely have to go any further than examining the film's title, "Who We Are...". Notice the use of the present tense 'Are.' This film is not about who we 'were' as a nation. A film that could have highlighted and celebrated the progress we have made. Oh no, in the eyes of B-DEI and their comrades, this is an accurate indictment of who we ARE today. 

To someone who loves America, it saddens me. How can people be so oblivious, so dogmatically blinded by their ideology, to the extent that they don't recognize or appreciate that they are living in one of the greatest countries in the history of man? To quote Shakespeare, "How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is to have a thankless child." What a shame. 

Furthermore, why do they feel compelled to promote their divisive nonsense? Why do they spew such hateful and harmful propaganda that only divides us further? Why do they seem almost elated to highlight examples, real or staged, of "hate"? Jussie Smollett is but one example. The answer is simple: without the widespread belief that we live in a world of systemic oppression, the need for groups such as B-DEI disappears. It quite literally is an existential issue for them. And so they must push and promote what is nothing more than an updated version of Marxism, except this time the struggle is no longer the bourgeoisie vs. the proletariat, but rather a more generalized version of oppressors (primarily white, heterosexual men) who oppress the oppressed (basically everyone else in a hierarchy of intersectionality). Identity means everything to these folks.

Although this destructive little game plays on, there is hope. 

For many reasons, DEI initiatives are slowly fading away across the nation, in universities and companies alike. People have begun to realize they were misled; they were sold a bill of goods promising noble principles such as diversity, equity, and inclusion. However, when no one was looking, the true nature of these Marxist movements became clear as the toxicity of exclusion, secrecy, hypocrisy, discrimination, and intolerance emerged, while tolerance, inclusion, diversity, and meritocracy disappeared. 

Given the atmosphere at the time, the town council's formation of B-DEI can be forgiven, but now that its true nature is known, it is time the town council moves to dissolve this hypocritical, divisive committee. 

Matthew Fletcher

Barrington