Given recent events, it’s obvious that we are on track for a very interesting November. A nation hungry for change will get a chance to chart a fresh course. The ultimate destination is anyone’s guess right now.
But, we may be in for one heck of a detour. November ballot initiatives have been proposed in five states that would state that ”The state shall not discriminate against or grant preferential treatment to any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin in the operation of public employment, public education or public contracting.” If the initiatives get on the ballot, voters will have the chance to end affirmative action in their states.
Although I think affirmative action policies were put in place with the best intentions and produced some admirable results, I would vote against continuing such preferential policies now. Time has gone by and in my opinion such policies are outdated.
Besides, the issue isn’t as black and white as it once was. Since affirmative action policies were set in place, the population of the United States has become much more diverse. It’s become ever harder to justify special treatment for any one group over another.
Moreover, the color that truly matters now is green. The almighty dollar, who has it and who doesn’t accounts for our biggest disparity in opportunity these days. This bears out in two ways.
First, in school funding. Although nothing can ever beat a stable family environment, a good education remains the best bet to give kids a path out of poverty. The government can’t mandate that all parents are loving, but it could do a better job funding schools. Most public schools are funded based on local real estate values. So, if you live in a crappy neighborhood you get crappy schools. Shouldn’t poor children get an equal chance at a quality education? Let’s figure out a way to fund schools more equitably. The goal should be to make all schools institutions we can be proud of.
Second, in the growing income disparity we’ve seen in this country since the ’70s. For some reason, the rich just keep getting richer. And they’re getting richer a lot faster than the rest of us. The government can’t and shouldn’t ensure that we all live the same lifestyle or have the exact same income. The beauty of our system is that we are all free to try to get the most out of our potential. But the government should and does have a legitimate interest in growing and protecting the middle class.
Until America can provide good schools in all neighborhoods and bridge some of the gap between the rich and the rest of us, I think affirmative action programs should focus on giving preferential treatment to people in poverty. Then, kids from families that are “have nots” would benefit regardless of their race or ethnicity.
2 Comments
March 9, 2008 at 6:06 pm
Affirmative action is racist; it engineers standards in every field to advance minorities at expense of more qualified white (and sometimes Asian) candidates. The facts showing the dramatic advantages for minorities are ruthlessly suppressed.
Obama supports affirmative action, but unlike other candidates, for him it is not an expression of “white guilt,” but rather one of “black power.” He is supposed to be the candidate of racial healing, and is very articulate in his vague concessions to opponents, but all the proposed movement ends up being one way. The healing he wants involves whites folding on all issues where there is typically a division across racial lines. I suppose quick declarations of surrender can lead to a kind of peace, but it’s the peace of the grave, of cultural annihilation. It’s the peace of forgotten peoples who have become merely historical footnotes: Laplanders, Ruthenians, Khazars. This is what he is asking for when he talks about “hard work” and “sacrifice” and “making the ‘Kingdom of Heaven’ on Earth” if he becomes President.
March 10, 2008 at 2:02 am
Think you are off base despite the fact that we both oppose affirmative action as currently structured.
As far as I’m concerned we are at peace. There is no surrender needed. We are all Americans. And, btw, we SHOULD all work together to make the earth as good as it can be.