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. (How that relates to Hispanics I still haven't figured out.)

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 for his friends someone else’s life.

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.