Guest Opinion by Tony Ambrosetti
Perhaps you have seen those banal bumper stickers that encourage us to “celebrate diversity”; but what is really meant by that odd phrase? Diversity is such an overused word—overused, that is, by the Left—that most of us in fact have no idea what the purveyors of this ambiguous concept mean.
The truth is, diversity is whatever the Left wants it to be. They get to define the terms, and we must simply accept it. If you challenge their definition, you will be corrected, as happened to me on November 21, 2024, when I was elected by the Community Library Network (CLN) Board of Trustees to fill a vacant seat.
One of the Trustees had nominated me, while another had nominated Michelle Lippert. You may recognize that name, as Mrs. Lippert apparently thinks that the residents of Kootenai and Shoshone counties are ignorant enough to vote for her for CLN Trustee on May 20. She wants to make the CLN libraries more diverse. How do we know? She told us so.
At the November meeting, CLN Chair Rachelle Ottosen allowed the two nominees time to explain why we sought the Trustee position. I concentrated on the concept of good books as teachers. Mrs. Lippert took the opportunity to double down on comments she had made earlier during the Public Comment portion of the meeting to criticize both the CLN Board and the people of Kootenai county who, she asserted, don’t realize just how diverse our corner of Idaho really is!
Because Michelle Lippert had made such an issue of “diversity” in her earlier comments, I thought it would be fair for me to introduce myself as the grandson of Italian Catholic immigrants who came to the United States legally through Ellis Island over 120 years ago. I was under the silly impression that this would end her “diversity” push. But that wasn’t the kind of diversity she meant. If you wish to see how the Left assumes a self-righteous air and denigrates anyone else’s attempts to define their terms, the video of that meeting six months ago is enlightening.
Most likely, you will have neither the time nor the inclination to watch Mrs. Lippert spouting Leftist blather for six minutes, so I will condense her more salient comments:
“I was, for 26 years, a philosophy instructor at NIC . . . Between living here for 36 years and working with students for 26 years, I think I have a really strong sense of who our community is. . . Kootenai County is way more diverse than most people believe. There are a variety of religious points of view, political points of view, and non-religious points of view. This community is more diverse than I think this board has a tendency to believe. . . And I am not talking about diversity in terms of ethnic background. (Here, she threw a nasty side-glance toward me, for trying to get my “diversity box” checked without her approval.) I’m talking about diversity in terms of religion or lack of religion . . . political beliefs. . . I truly believe that one of the things that would be more helpful to this board is if you adopt a more secular approach to governing.”
So, that’s the world according to Michelle Lippert: diversity is the panacea for all our woes! Who knew? In recent months, Mrs. Lippert has also co-opted “parental rights” under her diversity umbrella. It is touching to hear of Michelle Lippert’s newfound devotion to parental rights. It was not always so! I distinctly recall listening to her imparting her educational philosophy at a faculty meeting at NIC, where I taught as an adjunct instructor for 22 years. As we awaited the start of the meeting, Mrs. Lippert loudly lamented to the younger faculty that “students come to us with black and white beliefs,” then boldly explained that we must disabuse students of these firmly held convictions and beliefs. Gee, I wonder who instilled those “black and white” principles she detests so much in her young (mostly teen-aged) students?
Michelle Lippert’s apparent obsession with “diversity,” and her undermining of hearth and home values instilled by parents, make it clear that she should not be allowed anywhere near the CLN Trustee seat. Fortunately, Victoria Bauman is the antidote to Michelle Lippert. Please cast your vote on May 20 for Victoria. She will continue to make our libraries great again, if not more diverse!
Tony Ambrosetti serves on the Community Library Network Board of Trustees. He and his wife and four children moved to Kootenai county upon his retirement from the Navy in 1993.
