Christopher F. Rufo What Junk Mail Reveals About the Culture War American institutions are abandoning DEI jargon in their public communications.
https://www.city-journal.org/article/culture-war-dei-jargon-junk-mail
The modern world floods us with junk, trash, and slop. Our mailboxes overflow with advertisements and brochures, and our email boxes with organizational announcements, corporate spam, and political fundraising appeals—usually unsolicited. While most of us focus on getting rid of these distractions, if we suspend our usual habit, we might see that they reveal the balance of power of the cultural status quo. In recent months, it has shifted dramatically.
Many Fortune 100 companies that once prominently featured DEI in their communications have now removed any mention of “diversity and inclusion,” with an increasing number shutting down those departments altogether. Ivy League universities, once quick to issue official statements on every news event, now emphasize outstanding research and academic excellence over race and gender activism. Primary and secondary schools have followed suit. In the aftermath of the George Floyd riots, they prioritized social justice and ideological observances, such as Black Lives Matter Week and the Transgender Day of Remembrance. But now, under sustained pressure from parents and the Trump administration, political messaging has notably disappeared from many American school districts’ standard communications.
These are welcome developments. Despite their flaws, America’s institutions remain adaptable, capable of course correction when experiments fail and responsive to demands for reform. The shift in institutional messaging reflects a broader cultural realignment. Many organizations appear to recognize—at least in their public communications—that they had strayed from their core missions. Their new messaging signals a return to fundamentals: companies focusing on profit, universities on knowledge, and schools on education. The “culture war” that many of us have waged for years has reshaped how institutions perceive themselves and engage with the public.
This does not mean the problem is solved. Left-wing radicals remain deeply entrenched in many institutions, particularly in education. They are tenacious, ruthless, and committed—but not invulnerable. The incentives and status signals around them have shifted in the conservative’s favor. The widening gap between these activists and the institutions they have influenced presents an opportunity. President Trump has seized it, dismantling DEI departments, removing full-time activists, and shifting legal and cultural boundaries rightward, encouraging the broader public—which largely follows prevailing norms—to adopt better customs and habits.
The challenge of activist management can be addressed through strategic reorganization and targeted terminations, but another crucial task remains: rewriting the institutional script. Conservatives cannot merely advocate for neutrality or disengagement—they need a stronger, more compelling message. The simple, winning approach, which also provides cover for management, is to emphasize a “return to the original mission” of each institution. Activities aligned with that mission should be supported, celebrated, and incentivized; those that stray beyond it should be reformed, dismantled, or eliminated. And these new boundaries must be defended with even greater tenacity than the radicals show in seeking to erode them.
While you may feel overwhelmed by junk mail, take a day or two to review it, and see if it offers any sign of the changing culture. Then: unsubscribe.
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