More than 50 years ago, in his prophetic book, Animal Farm, George Orwell penned a story that's especially relevant in these multiculturally mutilated, diversity devastated times: Orwell's animal society, seeking to rid itself of the yoke of oppression, adopted the philosophy: 'All Animals are equal'' or, its human equivalent, 'Everyone, is equal to everyone else.' As their society evolved, failing to understand the individualism inherent in their new philosophy, the animals strived to lose their individual identities, replacing them instead with a group identity as members of the new society.

Living the socialist, communist adage, 'From each according to his ability, to each according to his need'., these social pioneers soon discovered that some elements of their society would always be in need, forcing the productive elements of society to produce more and more to support them. Predictably, other elements of the society now voiced their 'needs', until...a new level of identity emerged in the animal society: a group identity, based on their specific species. No longer individuals, no longer simply 'citizens' working for the common good, they were now clumped together by breed: chickens, cows, pigs, ducks, to give their need-based demands the force of numbers. Each group cited their 'need' as they clamored for more of the society's resources, decrying the greed of the 'producers'. Eventually, as the ranks of the needy swelled and the shrinking group of producers devolved into abject slavery, the animal society's motto evolved to reflect this new reality: 'All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others.'

American society has undergone an evolution similar to the one in Orwell's story. Based on the bedrock of 'inalienable' individual rights, rights inherent in every individual by his/her very nature, America's underlying principle has always been 'All individuals are created equal'. Enraged by the simple fact of life that some individuals are more competent, more successful, than others, America's social engineers seem determined to follow the lead of Orwell's animal society. Championing the cult of 'need', they work tirelessly to bludgeon individual rights into submission 'for the good of society as a whole'. 'Needy' groups are trotted out to whine, whimper, and moan about the unfairness of life and demand their 'fair share' of American dream. Wrapping themselves in a new 'group' identity, based on such immutable characteristics as skin pigmentation, ethnicity/race, gender and even 'sexual orientation', they shed their individuality - and the rights that go with it - to justify their insatiable greed for that which they can't/won't earn for themselves. Their 'need' is more important than the once 'inalienable' right of an individual to the fruits of his own labor. The competent become slave to the incompetent, enslaved by the chronically needy. Alas, the immortal words of the founding fathers have been given an Orwellian spin and should now read: 'All men are created equal, but some are more equal than others.'

Never quick on the uptake, eternally insulated from 'real life', our so-called government has been an eager, if utterly clueless, accomplice in the Orwellinization of America. Mindlessly leaping in where a rational individual would proceed with caution, our beloved government made the disabled more equal than the 'abled' with the Americans With Disabilities Act and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Women were made more equal than their male counterparts by proclaiming the 'fair sex' an oppressed minority, qualifying them for 'protection' under the various Civil Rights Acts. Adding the 'victim'-defined phrase, 'hostile working environment' to the Sexual Harassment statutes made women vastly more equal, than their male co-workers who became slaves to the every woman's 'sensitivities'. Children were made more equal than adults with the Telecommunications Act of 1996. Who cares about the First Amendment when some egregiously unsupervised tyke is being parented by mommy and daddy's pc or the boob tube?

Any writer of fiction will tell you that a good story needs a villain. As the diversity juggernaut gathers steam, a villain is needed to keep it rolling. In record time, after a secret ballot, the winner is - trumpet fanfare please - white males (heterosexual white males). In a heartbeat, white males were blamed for any and all evils in our society, everything from killer bees to the shocking under-representation of Filipinos in the National Basketball Association. Terrified that they'd neglected to codify the official diversity demon's new status, in the flood of Orwellian legislation, the government created the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission which made everyone else more equal than white males. The crowning glory of Orwellian Government fiat, Affirmative Action, is a fabulous bit of irrationality which makes Heller's infamous Catch-22 pale by comparison. This inescapable bullseye the devotees of diversity painted on the boom-boom of every white male in America has further altered the founding fathers noble words to read: 'All persons are created equal, but some - anyone who isn't a white male - are more equal than others - white males.'

And they all lived happily ever after? Don't hold your breath...For the eternally needy, it's never enough.

– T.D. Treat