The society that we live in is very mixed in terms of race. In recent decades, liberalism in politics has become overwhelmingly powerful. In our country, it sometimes seems that each citizen can be classified as one of two types of person: a liberal or a racist. Its utterly ridiculous when conservative thinkers are considered "racist" when they oppose things such as affirmative action, welfare, and urban aid programs. I, personally, am an independent thinker. I do not support many of these programs, and I am not a racist. I'm not a bigot. As a matter of fact, I strongly believe that bigotry, which is essentially to hate someone based soley on their race, is one of the highest forms of ignorance.
With that said, I believe I've left left no room for misinterpretation, a danger that has many conservatives holding their tongues. What the liberals need to realize is this: not everything is about race!! Not everyone who opposes programs that involve minorities are racist!! This may seem hard to believe, but it is true. The liberals in this country are falling into a trend of making all sorts of things out to be prejudice when they are not. For example, many blacks in this country oppose prison work details because chains are used to bind the prisoners. The objection here is based on the idea that the chains are supposed to symbolize slavery, and most of the prisoners on these details are black. Time for a few undeniable truths to help clear this all up.
Chains are used on the prisoners because they are convicted criminals, and ropes are too easy to cut. They are used on white, black, hispanic, and asian inmates alike. Now for the issue of the majority of prisoners on these details being black. This prediction is straight from the Dept. of Justice: "About 1 in 3 black males are expected to go to prison in their lifetime" as of 2001. This does not condemn 33% of the black male population to lives of crime. It is based on current statistics, and the liberals who whine about injustice should realize that every single one of those individuals incarcerated have been convicted of crimes to get to that point. If a hispanic man, an asian man, a white man, a native American, a smurf, the Jolly Green Giant, or anyone else commits such a crime, they are subjected to the same punishments. Therefore it is an extremely hollow point to argue that its "unfair" that more blacks are incarcerated than anyone else.
Now the main issue of affirmative action. Once useful, this archaeic means of "allowing African Americans" to advance in our society" is now merely a source of reverse discrimination and consequently, bitterness. If you are unclear on how affirmative action affects people in this country, I've got a great hypothetical scenario:
A well-experienced blue man applies for a job at a heating and cooling company. An underqualified green man also applies for the job. Unfortunately for the employer, the city requires him to employ AT LEAST one green person for every two blue people. The green man knows this situation, so he shows up to the interview late without a completed resume. With only one position to fill, and not enough green people on his workforce already, he is forced to hire the less-qualified and unorganized green applicant. The blue applicant has to look for work elsewhere.
Okay, now check this out. Both green and blue applicants have teenage sons. Both men make the same income, because they work similiar jobs. The green son is granted a scholarship as he finishes high school with a 2.1 GPA (not bad considering he never really tried, and his parents didn't stress education). The blue son finishes high school with a 3.5, as a direct result of four years of hard work. He isn't awarded a scholarship because all of the local scholarships are for green students.
If you still aren't getting the jist of the whole "affirmative action" program, here's one final stab at it. After hearing the story of the blue student being denied for a scholarship, a wealthy businessman decides to start a scholarship for blue students, in an attempt to break down the color barrier. He is promptly sued by the UCLA and loses.
All the "unfair" examples of racism in this country the liberals complain about, and this still happens all over this country, every day. It is allowed to continue, because to openly oppose this program is racist. Conservative politicians don't want to be marked as bigots by their opposition, so they remain silent and let the reverse discrimination continue. Martin Luther King Jr. said it all when he said "a world in which all men are created equal." Equal does not mean white power. It doesn't mean black power. It means equal. Why can't any of the liberals see that middle mark, and work toward reaching it?