With all the skirting of the real issues we seem to do on this board, I ran into this from a PBS discussion on Affirmative Action.
" JOHN MCLAUGHLIN, HOST: Are you saying college admissions should be based on diversity?
ELEANOR CLIFT, NEWSWEEK/DAILY BEAST: Yeah, I mean, I think lots of factors go into diversity. I think race can be one of them, and I think the Supreme Court so far agrees with that.
MCLAUGHLIN: 67 percent opposed it, 28, you’re in the minority. Only 28 percent are in favor of it.
PAT BUCHANAN: It should be based on excellence, John.
CLIFT: As long as the Supreme Court agrees with me, I’m fine.
BUCHANAN: It should be like the NFL: whoever’s the best player plays, and whoever does best academically should be advanced. What is wrong with that?
MICHELLE BERNARD: Here’s a question I have. One of the things I always say because I think you can measure diversity in a lot of ways, but I think there’s an argument to be said that the greatest Affirmative Action program that there is in the country is being born white. There is a natural assumption when you are applying to institutions of higher education that you are excellent or you are more superb than others.
BUCHANAN: With due respect, whites are the only group that you can discriminate against legally in America now."
Read more:
Pat Buchanan: 'Whites Are the Only Group That You Can Discriminate Against Legally in America Now' | NewsBusters
TWO sentences stand out for me and could be the basis for a discussion, but lets keep it about the subject.
First is that
college admissions should be based on diversity
which is what Eleanor Clift of NEWSWEEK/DAILY BEAST contends.
Second is the comment by Pat Buchanan that
"..... whites are the only group that you can discriminate against legally in America now."
I tend to agree with Buchanan, but need to add that if that is correct, it is totally the result of political pressure and not the result of good thought or ideas. I say that because we spend time and emotions on making sure that education is available to all, and stress the diversity, YET we make very little in the way of efforts to keep kids in school, apply pressure to the family to insure that, and to insure that these young people are prepared for any education.
We simply make knee jerk decisions based on votes.
Please, every time this comes us, the racist charges fly.....I hope that does not happen but have we gone too far in this country down this road and does the fact that we have done that, ironically make the situation worse instead of better. Have we allowed an entire generation or two grow up with a real attitude of thinking they are deserving BECAUSE of the color of his/her skin ?
I have always thought that in our attempt to "do good" or win votes, we have tipped the scale and created our own problems !