Affirmative Action Does Not Prevent Racism -- It Is Racism

I just recently purchased a book by Bernard Goldberg -- an eight time Emmy award winner for his work at CBS & HBO, and winner of the Alfred I. duPont-Columbia Award (the most prestigious of all broadcast journalism awards) -- titled Crazies to the Left of Me, Wimps to the Right: How One Side Lost Its Mind And the Other Lost Its Nerve. Its a brilliant little piece of work considering I've only read half. Anyway, Mr. Goldberg tells his story of his transformation from being a liberal to becoming a conservative. He accurately and passionately describes the sheer stupidity, ignorance, and above all, intolerance of the modern-day "liberal". A significant topic he touches upon is race, and how the Left is extremely hypocritical when they stake their claim as protectors and harbingers of civil rights among racial minorities, yet they egregiously support racist programs such as affirmative action. Which brings me to my "op-ed", if you will.

I agree with many of Mr. Goldberg's views on certain issues, but none more so than affirmative action. Affirmative action got its start with the late President John F. Kennedy, who though it was necessary to break down the walls of discrimination by prohibiting employers from denying individuals employment based on their race, sex, religion, and age. I'm not entirely sure if sexual orientation was yet considered during that time. President Kennedy was correct for doing so, but his intention was taken out of context. Today, affirmative action is understood to level the playing field for minorities who've endured past discrimination. Never mind that affirmative action is discrimination in itself, it's a noble idea.

If Martin Luther King, Jr. were alive today, he would be in heavy opposition to this program. Consider the following words:

"I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal. [...] I have a dream that one day my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."

As you all may know, this is from Dr. King's "I Have a Dream Speech" -- a message of particular importance to the black community.

What bugs me though about the black community is their idolization of Dr. King (rightfully so), yet their complete disregard for the message he portrayed. When he says someone should be judged by the content of their character, that does not mean overwhelmingly support a federal program requiring employers and colleges to give extra points on applications and admissions based on race, gender, and sexual orientation. Preferential quotas is blatant discrimination, no matter which way you look at it. For example, on one side you've got a black teenager who's dad is a doctor and mother is a lawyer, and on the other you have a white teenager who's dad is a mechanic and mother a waitress. Both apply to the same university. Despite the black teenager's background and financial status, he still gets extra points on his enrollment application simply because his skin is a different color other than white. It hardly seems fair to me.

Therefore, race/gender/sexual preference-based affirmative action, should be eliminated. An additional reason for termination is quotas also carry a limit. Black students can still be turned down because a college may have already met their quota for the month. Likewise with Asians, Hispanics, and many other ethnic backgrounds.

Once that happens, many on the Left are going to ask what can be done to help poor minorities in this country. That's not our concern. Reformation starts within the community, not from society. The black community has to change their own culture. They need strong leaders like Martin Luther King, Jr., not Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson, who are not only racist themselves, but shamefully overuse the race card to promote their own political or economic agenda.

Looking ahead, individuals need to stop blaming society for their problems. Martin Luther King didn't. He did something about it. He rallied people of all colors, ethnicities, religions behind a common purpose: to eradicate the influence of racism. The black community, the Hispanic community, hell, even the white community need to turn the finger of blame on themselves. Values are taught inside the home. If we as a nation ever plan on defeating racism, crime, teen pregnancies, and giving fathers a sense of responsibility, it's time we start teaching those values again.