Supreme Court Affirmative Action?

I don’t think many reasonable people will hear the phrase “I’m going to appoint a black woman to the Supreme Court” and think that’s a very good way of filling the upcoming empty seat later this year. A well informed citizen might think that perhaps a long history of making sound, constitutionally consistent decisions might be at the very top of the list when it comes to joining the court that makes decisions based on interpretation of the Constitution, as well as a solid track record of running courts in a neutral and unbiased way. The law is supposed to be blind, after all, and shouldn’t that also include color?

Of course, some will misunderstand what I just said and assume that I am prejudiced against black women and don’t want to see them on the court. As a white male, my opinion will always be interpreted by the left as racist simply because of the color of my skin, but that isn’t even the most insidious part of all this. What is really unsettling is the fact that at the very core of all of this is the idea that any opinion that isn’t aligned with the authoritarian left is ghastly and should be silenced and punished.

You see, if you really think about it the things that are going on today have absolutely nothing to do with race and everything to do with finding avenues to put lunatics into power so that our nation comes crashing down around us. There are people in the world with a lot of power and influence who want to sweep away the existing system that stymies their ability to get exactly what they want and put into place a new order that will allow them to exert total control over a population that they see as undeserving of freedom.

There was a time when affirmative action was a necessary part of the societal healing of our nation. For too long the status quo in our country was truly centered around a white majority holding control over and putting roadblocks in front of the racial minorities who lived alongside them. It would be unreasonable to say that white people did not have a significant advantage over people of other colors for a very long time during the course of the history of the United States. All you have to do is look back at things like Jim Crow and the Civil Rights movement that was assaulted at every turn.

That said, how long does a dark history warrant continued angst and hatred? Is revenge what it takes to balance things out? We’re seeing the pendulum swing way too far the other way as the racial majority in this country is now being ostracized as terrible people who still need to be brought down. Any objective person will look at the social and economic landscape today and see that opportunity is pretty much equal for everyone. The poorest, darkest skinned person in this nation has the same chance as anyone else of striking it rich, assuming all other factors are equal. Our nation was built on that idea.

At what point do we finally say that we’ve done enough to redress the wrongs of the past and now your situation is on you? Is it fair to punish future generations for the actions of those who came before? I certainly have not found any significant advantage from the color of my skin, most of my opportunities being generated from the fact that I have more than ten years of military service on my resume. It was my actions and decisions that have brought me where I am today, not a lack of melanin in my skin.

When I hear such ridiculous phrases as “I’m going to hire someone because of their skin color”, I can’t help but shudder and wonder how bad things are going to get in this country before the average person finally gets tired of it and starts pushing back. It’s one thing to have compassion for people’s who have historically struggled and want to right the wrongs of the past, but at what point have the wrongs been righted and it’s now on them to make their own way?

Race was always supposed to be something that was abolished as a concept, but we can’t seem to let it go. The Civil Rights movement was supposed to be about getting equal rights for people of color and finding a balance between all people that was fair. There is a massive difference between equality of opportunity and equality of outcome, however, and when your first criterion is the color of someone’s skin, you’re bringing back racism in a very overt and disturbing way. This is NOT the direction we want to be going.

So what do you think about race-centric appointments to critically important roles in government? Does it make sense to publicly announce that only a black woman has a shot at the job? Is that the kind of “equality” that we’ve been striving for so long? What about Latinas or Native Americans or any of the other historically disenfranchised groups? Personally, I have absolutely no issue with a black woman being appointed to the Supreme Court, but only if it’s because she’s the best person for the job. Anything else is just manipulation.

Advertisement