Article originally appeared on thefederalist.com.
Twenty-five years ago, I went to India as a newly minted Foreign Service officer. After three months of Hindi language training, I was interviewing up to 200 visa applicants a day. After that, I served in Africa, Europe, and Asia, going from junior officer to running a post.
I love my country and was proud to serve it as a diplomat. America has flaws, to be sure, and its story has some shameful chapters, but I’ve seen firsthand that we compare favorably to any other country and system of government on Earth. Nowhere does an individual — no matter his or her background — have more opportunity to succeed than in the United States.
That is why I fear the State Department’s increasing turn toward ideology and partisanship. The United States needs competent, politically neutral servants prepared to carry out the policies of elected officials. But the State Department’s recent diversion from merit to “equity” undermines principles that …
| View full article |
