All Men Are Created Equal
You and I Are Not Symbols
Hi friends,
This morning I saw that Time Magazine has chosen ‘The Closers 2025’. It’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), just when I was having hope that ‘All men are created equal’ was making a comeback.
Here is my commentary. Don’t miss My Two Cents at the end.
We Are Individuals, Not Symbols
Recognition programs, corporate sponsorships, and media-backed awards often focus more on race and gender than individuality or merit. This is clear in initiatives like Time Magazine's "The Closers", which only honors Black leaders working to close the racial wealth gap. While this might sound like a good idea, it categorizes both the individuals and the group they claim to support. Let’s look at how these programs create unfairness, why some minorities don’t even want this kind of treatment, and why assuming all Black people need or want to be categorized is wrong.
Merit - Who Gets Recognized and Who Doesn’t?
While The Closers list gives awards to Black professionals, many other people doing important work never get noticed. Here are some examples:
Groups That Get Corporate Recognition
Black leaders in business (The Closers)
Women in science and tech
LGBTQ+ activists in business and politics
Minority-owned businesses receiving special grants
Groups That Get Ignored
Homeschooling grandmothers who dedicate their lives to education
Stay-at-home dads who challenge gender stereotypes
Single women who own pets and navigate life independently
People with celiac disease who push for safer food options
Farmers, truckers, and factory workers who keep society running
Small business owners in rural America who build success from nothing
None of these groups get big awards or recognition like race-based programs do. If awards were really about the individual or merit, we’d see a completely different scenario.
The Financial Cost of Identity-Based Recognition
Who Pays for "The Closers"?
It’s unclear who exactly funds The Closers, but what’s clear is that Time Magazine is pushing some agenda, maybe political, agenda rather than just recognizing success.
Time has admired election manipulations, including their bragging article about how the 2020 election was ‘saved’.
Big corporations, media companies, and government-backed groups fund race-based recognition programs to push a narrative.
Other companies, like Forbes and The Washington Post, have similar awards that favor certain identity groups over others.
This makes it clear that The Closers isn’t just about celebrating success. It’s about pushing a message and/or promoting itself.
The Non-Financial Cost: What Does It Do to Society?
Beyond money, the real cost is the damage these programs do to individual pride, personal identity, and human relationships.
When someone is recognized for their ‘identity’ instead of what they’ve done, it cheapens real success. (And why is color or gender called ‘identity’ anyway? Except maybe when described to or by law enforcement.)
It creates resentment, especially among those who work just as hard but are ignored because they don’t fit the narrative.
It encourages people to see themselves as symbols rather than unique individuals with their own paths.
This isn’t just unfair—it’s divisive and demeaning.
The Problem with Race-Based Groups
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs favor race and gender over ability and even over individuality. This leads to discrimination, even if it’s disguised as fairness. Think about it:
If a company only honored White leaders, people would call it racist.
Why is it okay to honor only Black leaders but not other races?
What about economic struggle? Many White Americans face the same challenges too, but they don’t get these programs.
This double standard shows that DEI isn’t about fairness - it’s about picking winners and losers based on a group identity. Every person is equally valuable for who they are, not what group they belong to.
Not Everyone Wants Special Treatment
Rejecting the Victim Label
Not all Black Americans or other minorities support race-based programs. Many feel being singled out because of race is actually insulting.
Successful people don’t want handouts—they want to be recognized for real achievements.
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Controversy: Some aid recipients have spoken out against foreign aid, saying it makes them dependent instead of self-sufficient.
Hard-working individuals thrive through effort, and it builds self-confidence and pride.
Assuming all Black individuals need help is just as bad as assuming all White people have it easy. It’s offensive and incorrect.
Who Decides Who Gets Support?
Corporate Awards vs. Self-Sustaining Groups
Some groups, like Alcoholics Anonymous, cancer support groups, or dyslexia foundations, operate without corporate funding. They rely on donations and grassroots activism, not political backing.
What Gets Institutional Support?
Race and gender-based programs (The Closers, Women in STEM, DEI Programs)
Activist movements backed by big corporations (Black Lives Matter, Pride Campaigns)
Government policies forcing diversity hiring
Who Gets Ignored?
Working-class people who don’t fit the political agenda. In this case, anyone who isn’t Black is ignored.
White, Asian, and Hispanic business owners who don’t qualify for special grants
Americans struggling with real economic hardship but don’t check the right boxes
This imbalance isn’t by accident. It’s a strategy to promote a specific agenda or plain old marketing. People aren’t a product.
Conclusion: Individual People and Merit
People should be recognized for who they are and what they do, not color, gender, creed, religion, disability, etc. ‘Affirmative Action’ is rightfully over.
Honoring only Black leaders while ignoring others is not fair - to anyone.
Race-based separations create division instead of unity. (And it’s awkward. I want to be talking to a person about their family, their hobbies, God, what book or movie genre they prefer, their favorite food.)
Everyone deserves equal opportunity, and success isn’t about identity politics.
My Two Cents
I believe in work ethics, merit, and fairness, sure, but the individual and relationships are key. When something is made all about race or gender (or any other anti-discrimination characteristic), the person gets lost in being a symbol, and the connection between us as individuals can be lost.
Let’s stop allowing anyone to make people victims or symbols because of some part of their identity. Equality is not putting people into categories; it’s accepting each individual for who they are and recognizing their qualities.
God bless you and God bless America!
~Ellen
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