"Accept a favor, and you sell your liberty." - Publius Syrus - 50 BC
America has always been at the forefront of equal rights. It is built into our Constitution and Declaration of Independence. Equal rights were one of the main reasons for our Revolution. America stopped all importation of African Negroes in 1808. The War Between the States was fought over the right of a state to secede. Some wanted to keep slavery, and others didn't. The whole matter would have solved itself without that hideous war when the Industrial Revolution came along a couple of decades later, and farm work became mechanized. The advent of the steam tractor and subsequent machines, made growing crops ever so much easier, and eventually eliminated the need for slaves, if there really ever was one.
A Constitutional Amendment, the thirteenth, prohibiting slavery was added after the war, on December 6, 1865, and equal rights were on the road to totality. Massive immigration of foreigners, and the inculcation of their ways into American ones, with wonderful remnants of their previous lands were welcomed. The Germans brewed beer in America, like they did in their homeland, and other nationalities brought their customs and skills with them. Before racial turmoil was fostered by "civil rights" actions, whites loved to go to Harlem and other Negro areas for jazz, dancing, and other amusements. The Cotton Club and other Negro nightspots were overwhelmed with white patronage. While races usually grouped together in neighborhoods and enclaves, no one objected, and it became pleasurable to dine and shop in the various Chinatowns, Germantowns, Little Italys, and others that reeked of charm, atmosphere, and authenticity. Long before the hated "civil rights" actions and legislation occurred, the races were legally equalized, slaves freed, and I remember no racial slurs or hatred before these laws and actions. There is a great difference between equal treatment under the law, and unequal treatment, which has come to be called "Affirmative Action." America promises equal opportunity and treatment, not guaranteed success or happiness.
The term "Affirmative Action," means literally, "forced favoritism or choice," a total non sequitur. It is a ridiculous phrase, meaning forced action, forced hiring, forced admission to schools, the armed services, trades, unions, professions, and jobs. It means governmental force or attempted control of virtually the entire range of human action, in what is supposed to be a free land. As if the IRS weren’t confiscating, redistributing, and equalizing enough, our Washington parvenu socialists concocted "Affirmative Action," deliberately twisting the English language to suit themselves, an action that may not have had evil intent, but whose consequences are a disaster.
Affirmative Action is punishing some who have done nothing wrong, and rewarding others who didn’t suffer any wrong. Affirmative Action is intended to "equalize," but there is absolutely no such thing as equality in anything. There are no two cars, snowflakes, houses, people, or mountains that are equal. Equality is a virtually fictitious word, except possibly in mathematics. Two pieces of lumber cut to the same size, are different in weight, number of imperfections, grain, and strength. It is impossible to create equality, much less to legislate it. The Founders never intended for there to be equality in America, and no where in our Constitution is it mentioned or even hinted. The states and citizens were to compete with each other, not be equalized.
The civil rights and Affirmative Action laws, rules, executive orders, et al, have radically changed the mental state of America's poor. Rather than the ages old natural attitude of "self betterment," it has been changed to "government dependence," not at all what Mother Nature intended, which provides for the survival of a species. On the other side, it has punished the successful and strong, another whack at nature.
The U.S. Forest Service has run help wanted ads saying, "Only applicants who do not meet standards will be considered.." The Pentagon served notice that, "Special permission will be required for the promotion of all white men without disabilities."
Affirmative Action has resulted in hiring females as soldiers, pilots, fire fighters, police, and many absurd occupations for women, as well as refusal of those jobs to qualified males, who could perform them much better. It has registered unfit students to colleges, given degrees that are unearned, and caused untold damage to their victims. Want to fly with a pilot who was given the job because of Affirmative Action? Want to be operated on by a surgeon who obtained a degree having received poor grades and being "passed on," because of race or gender? Affirmative Action is a process which grants low achievers undeserved success, and creates male-female- black-white-Hispanic-tall-short-fat-crippled-etc. 'equality' in the workplace. The consequences of Affirmative Action, are that it has proven an insult to those it was designed to help. It has placed females into certain workplaces they ought not to not be, jeopardizing their fellow workers in many instances. It is governmental attempts to control human energy and thought...by force of law, but that is impossible. Thinking people are inwardly revolted and repulsed by it. In 1996, California passed Prop. 209, which eliminates Affirmative Action in state schools and government. It was upheld by the Supreme Court on November 3, 1997.
The armed forces are occupations for males only, except in secretarial or non-combat positions. In WW II, women were used to deliver fighter aircraft, but never flew in air combat, which requires far more strength than they possess. Today, female pilots have been proven to have lower combat fighting and flying abilities than males. The simple process of urination in a combat zone, easily proves why females should not be there, even if muscles and daring-do were equal. Allowing females into the military has resulted in pregnant 'soldiers' and 'sailors' by the hundreds, necessitating having obstetricians on board aircraft carriers. The carrier Enterprise has had so many pregnancies, that it has the nickname of "The Love Boat." Thousands of accusations have been leveled against drill sergeants and officers who have raped and sexually molested female 'soldiers' during basic training. These atrocities were never thought of before women were admitted into the armed services. As of 1999, there were over 200,000 women in the military. 61% of them say their male superiors have at one time or other harassed them. Female fire fighters and police lack the strength and raw nerve that males genetically posses in greater amounts. Professionals, such as surgeons, pilots, engineers, and architects should be graduated, and diplomas bestowed, as a result of achievement, not race or gender. When positions of great responsibility are conferred, and admissions granted to a profession for any reason other than ability or achievement, deaths can result, not to mention distrust. When inept people are admitted into a profession to fulfill a quota, or for 'humanitarian' reasons, I don’t want that lawyer to represent me, or that surgeon to operate on me.
Affirmative Action has spawned mistrust, and its consequences have been to insult its beneficiaries. If the recipients weren't of lower ability, strength, or capacity, a law wouldn’t be necessary to advance them. For a hundred years, members of all races have successfully competed with other races, and achieved recognition. Females have certain abilities that have been proven by research over and over again, and males likewise. Why, in a feckless attempt to equalize the sexes, have females been allowed to do men's jobs? They aren’t equal. If they were, there would be women as well as men on major sports and Olympic teams. A female's physical capabilities are far different than a male's. Women are designed differently than men, and not just sexually. Their bodies are not as muscular, bone structures, and some say reflexes are different. The consequences of having female police, fire fighters, and soldiers are that the efficiency and protective abilities of those occupations have been diminished.
I actually consider the female to be the superior sex. Which gender, by a great majority, inhabits the jails, commits the robberies, are violent and gang members? Which sex drives like crazy, and perpetrates most crimes and rapes? Which has the highest auto insurance rates? Males are superior as to strength, nerve, and athletic abilities, but the female has it all over them when it comes to giving love, withstanding pain, and being faithful. There are exceptions of course, but it would be a difficult argument to win, espousing that the male is the superior sex. This does not mean women should do men's jobs.
Several books have been written, especially "The Bell Curve," "The End Of Racism," and "Paved With Good Intentions," plus dozens of unbiased studies completed, which seem to prove that the Negro has lower mental capacity than whites, and Asians higher than whites. Even though it places me in the middle, not at the top, it could be true. Which are the ones crowding out whites at colleges and universities? Blacks? No, it is the Japanese, Chinese and Koreans. Which race has been the object of Affirmative Action? The Asians? Never. Affirmative Action, and the annual 'civil rights' bill, which invariably works its way through Congress to give blacks even more 'rights,' is a gross insult to them, making the rest of us suspicious and angry.
It is not sexist or racist to insist that the most qualified and best educated are admitted to any profession, and especially when it is a profession where human lives are involved. When grades, degrees, and diplomas are given to those who haven't legitimately earned them, it breeds mistrust, and insults those it was intended to help.
The term now in vogue, which is almost the same thing as "Affirmative Action," is "affordable housing." When pressure groups demand "affordable housing," it is the same as demanding "Affirmative Action," because it is merely a veiled demand to integrate, and fill fine neighborhoods with cheap apartments, homes, and public housing. Notice, one never hears of "affordable automobiles," "affordable television," or any other consumer product to be "affordable." The D.C. do-gooders and their ilk are determined to ruin every neighborhood and trade, by forcing the rest of us to assimilate our inferiors into our lives and occupations...to the eventual detriment of everyone. Next time "affordable housing" comes up as a subject to be discussed, be on guard!
Recent exhaustive surveys and polls indicate that all the laws and Affirmative Action attempts have failed to eliminate racial prejudice and desires to associate with, hire, marry, cohabit with, or in any way mingle socially or in business with any but one's own skin color, social class, educational achievement group, area of origin, race, and those with mutual interests, hobbies, and desires. Laws cannot change minds, and neither can the UN, which so dictated in 1992. Affirmative Action is so absurd that a solution is really quite easy!
Abolish it. Affirmative Action is unconstitutional, illogical, and unfair. America has always prided itself on freedom, competition, and fairness. Affirmative Action is none of the above, but rather injustice masquerading under the name of justice. California's abolishing of it in government hiring and public education admissions, is merely the beginning of an irresistible tide. Eventually, the supposed beneficiaries of Affirmative Action will realize it is a gross insult to them, and that should finish it all together.
Sexual Affirmative Action must pass too. It simply eludes rational comprehension, that any one would ever be overjoyed at seeing a female cop, fire fighter, combat soldier, or working in any other occupation requiring male strengths, skills and fearlessness. If your house were on fire, would you feel comfortable seeing a fire truck full of female firefighters arrive, and begin trying to pull heavy hose? In the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, American women and girls won many gold medals as did men, a total of 44 in all, a new record. But not one single medal was won by a sexually mixed team, because there were none. The same was true in the 2000 Olympics in Australia. Not a single athletic team had heard of Affirmative Action perhaps. The reason is because in basketball, swimming, rowing, baseball, wrestling, or any other sport; everyone knows the female is weaker. So why do we have female fire fighters, police, combat soldiers, and utility linemen? Affirmative Action is a total absurdity.