The Laughing Wolf

Affirmative Action

The Supreme Court has spoken, and despite the various spins it is clear that Affirmative Action has taken a blow. Not, perhaps, the final blow it should have taken, but a serious wound none-the-less.

The reasons for the start of such programs created a mythos in this country that has since been used to justify racism of the worst stripe, and to totally ignore the Constitution and much more. Whatever it was in the beginning, it has since turned into something that deserves a quick and merciful end.

America is founded on the idea of individual determination, individual merit, and of the pursuit of life, liberty, and happiness. No where is it guaranteed you will get same, just that you will have the opportunity to try. Affirmative action goes completely against this by presenting the idea of entitlement, and negating the concepts of hard work, determination, and individual achievement.

While I had no qualms about seeking scholarship funds for different portions of my ancestry, the very idea that I should get into a program or school because of said ancestry was something I could not and do not understand, nor do I agree with it. My ancestry is not germane to my ability to do a given job, or meet the standards of a given school. What is relevant are my grades, my work, and my ability.

To accept anything less than that is an insult, to all concerned. Where is pride in achievement? Where is determination to do well and go places? Would you make everyone an Eagle Scout simply because some can’t make it? A Green Beret? A member of NYPD?

No, race should have nothing to do with it, nor sex, nor orientation. What is supposed to count is the person, what they have done and what they show they can do. Just that.

If you want to increase the diversity in students or any other group, then start by giving up on education as it is taught today and go back to teaching. Teach them to think, to learn, to grow; get the families involved and cease making teachers and schools substitute parents and playpens; and, return to the idea of failure. Yes, there was shame in failing a course or a grade, but with that shame came an incentive to try again and do better. Grades and levels meant something and were not bowdlerized down in the name of inclusiveness and group feelgood. Quit treating one group as better or more needy than another, and start equality from the start.

Then, we won’t need special favors for any group and the country will benefit tremendously. Of course, it will rob a lot of politicians of power bases and victims to exploit, but I think we can all live with that.

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