Welcome to Breakpoint, a daily look at an ever-changing culture through the lens of unchanging truth. For the Colson Center, I'm John Stomestreet. Recently, communications giant Verizon announced it would end its DEI program. The move follows other prominent companies that also either downsized or dropped diversity quota hiring and forced education.
Something has definitely changed in corporate America.
Now, to be fair, Verizon switched its stance because of a $9.6 billion merger that was on the table. Other companies, however, announced that they were abandoning their DEI initiatives even before the Trump administration had forced the hands of companies that were tied to federal funding. Ironically, many of these companies, including Verizon, established their DEI programs to begin with in response to pressure from previous administrations, something that Senator Tom Cotton described as a dictatorship of woke capital. Pitched as necessary to bring equality for women and ethnic minorities, DEI instead pushed critical theory, transgender ideology, conscience restrictions, and even corporate what was called struggle sessions that looked straight out of Orwell books. But it's now clear that there were very few true believers in DEI in corporate America.
Disney, Netflix, Starbucks, many others were all in until the financial hit. Rather than woke champions, they were really only committed to remaining on the good side of whoever held the cultural leverage.
Now a big upside for all the rest of us is that so called Pride Month in June is not nearly as obnoxious as it was just a few years ago. The whole back and forth should remind us just how fickle corporate convictions can be. and also how effective social pressure can be. But that means we should also know that if the price is right, these very same corporate entities who shifted away from DEI could shift toward them again. Therefore, if this current vibe shift is to last, it cannot just be about being anti-woke.
After all, there are plenty of anti-woke crusaders today who are just as rootless as the woke are, even embracing things like anti-Semitism and elements of Marxism.
Sometimes the opposite of a bad thing is still a very bad thing. No, lasting change has to be built on what we're collectively for, not just what we're against. And two years ago, one of the great thinkers of our time, Princeton Law Professor Robert P. George, proposed an idea for the month of June. that I think has the potential to lead to this kind of significant change.
Though he did not intend Fidelity Month to be a direct counter to Pride Month, It's worth noting, fidelity is a virtue, pride is a vice. Here's how Dr. George describes Fidelity Month. Quote, We have an obligation to be faithful in the ways that we need to be faithful, faithful to God, faithful to our spouses and families, faithful to our countries and communities. If we want to continue and have our children continue and our grandchildren continue to enjoy the blessings of living in this blessed land, end quote.
During the month of June, Professor George is asking individuals to recommit to their most important relationships, to God, to spouses and children, to churches, to country. The FidelityMonth.com website is full of helpful free resources to get started. The logo of Fidelity Month can be downloaded and shared on social media. There are also files from which you can produce flags and banners and postcards. There are articles for individual and group study as well as a few Fidelity Month events to join during the month of June.
And one effort that could bear very strong fruit here is to appeal to local municipalities and state legislative bodies to formally recognize June as Fidelity Month. After all, fidelity to faith and family is what built America in the first place. And that's worthy of being recognized. Recently, Professor George joined me for a special bonus episode about Fidelity Month on the Breakpoint podcast. It's available on all major podcast platforms and at our website, breakpoint.org.
You can learn more about Fidelity Month and access the free resources at fidelitymonth.com. That's fidelitymonth.com. And even if the rainbow flags are flying all around you this June, remember this: Fidelity is far better. It's far better for you, for your family, for your nation, and for the world. Than Pride.
For the Colson Center, I'm John Stone Street with Breakpoint. Today's Breakpoint was co-authored with Dr. Timothy Padgett. If you're a fan of Breakpoint, leave us a review wherever you download your podcast. And for a version of this commentary that you can either print or share with others, go to breakpoint.org.
Hey, breakpoint listeners, John Stone Street here from the Colson Center. I want to invite you to join me for an important live stream event, Truth, Love, and Humor, Faith Without Fear. It's July 24th. I'll be joined by Seth Dillon, the CEO of the Babylon Bee, the one and only Christian satire publication, as well as Jim Daly, president of Focus on the Family. We're living in times where to speak the truth can get you canceled, and nobody knows that better than Seth Dillon.
And yet, our responsibility to speak the truth doesn't change. Just a few years ago, USA Today named Admiral Rachel Levine a biological man who identifies and presents as a woman as their so-called woman of the year. In response, the Babylon Bee named Levine the man of the year. And that led to being canceled on Twitter. But as Seth Dillon says, truth is not hate speech.
and their faithfulness to say the truth, even in a humorous way, An incredible ending. You'll not want to miss this story as well as an exhortation of what it means to speak the truth in this cultural moment. This event is absolutely free. You can either join us in person if you're in the Bay Harbor, Michigan area, or online via live stream. To register, go to colsoncenter.org slash truth.
That's colsoncenter.org slash truth. Again, the date is July 24th, and the event is truth, love, and humor, faith without fear.
