President Obama Proclaims Diversity A "Value"

                 Speaking recently about the assassination of five Dallas police officers, President Obama tried to highlight and defend American “values.” One of the values he extolled was “diversity.” Can someone please inform the President that diversity isn’t a value? In the context that he placed it, values, according to Webster’s New Unabridged Dictionary, are defined thusly: Ethics. Any object or quality desirable as a means or as an end in itself. Implies intrinsic desirability or spiritual qualities of mind and character, or moral excellence.

                A value might be cleanliness, freedom, honesty or courage. Conversely, diversity is defined as: the state or fact of being diverse; difference; unlikeness. There are diverse outcomes of major surgery. One of which is death. This is not usually desirable. There are a diversity of terrorist threats out there. This does not make them spiritual or of moral excellence. There exist a great diversity of invasive species, diseases and mental and physical pain. This fact alone, of course, does not make them intrinsically desirable.

                I am not in any way comparing any group of humans to the aforementioned. In many instances, there is a decided benefit to diversity. I’m only illustrating the absurdity of elevating such a concept to a cherished “value.”

                As regards this fact, one would hope there is not a diversity of opinion.