 ave
you ever given any thought to what happens as far as
all the players are concerned when a university adopts so-called affirmative
action as part of its admissions policy? Not just in terms of the visible
players. But in terms of all the players?
First, affirmative action is a zero-sum game. For every one admitted
although he or she lacked the necessary qualifications, there is someone
else who was denied admission, not because he or she wasn't qualified,
but rather because he or she has the wrong skin color. Or the wrong ethnic
origin.
And I'm not talking about mere abstractions, now. I'm talking about
real, live, flesh-and-blood humans. With aspirations, with goals, with
feelings. Youngsters who worked very hard to achieve their grades and SAT
scores.
And second, the justification for affirmative action most frequently
voiced is that it's the only fair way to make up for 200 years of slavery.
Now let me ask you something. How do you think you would feel if the
cops came to your door, arrested you, and put you in the slammer for a
year because your great, great, great, grandfather stole a horse and was
never punished for it? And when you protest that your grandfather was the
culprit, not you, you're told that we've gotta make up for 200 years of
lawlessness.
The more I think about it, the more convinced I become that a reworking
of something Jesus said would aptly describe the whole area of affirmative
action: Greater love hath no man than to lay down someone else's life for
his friends.
You know, if anyone feels strongly about having one of the “disadvantaged”
admitted to his school, then why doesn't he give that person his place
instead of someone else's? Now that would be an act of love. But giving
that young person someone else's place is not an act of love. It's an act
of hypocrisy.
Think about it. |
