An Imperfect Nation (opinion)
Submitted by Carson Now Reader on Thu, 06/17/2021 - 9:49am
In the meeting rooms of legislatures, city councils, boards of directors and school districts across the country, the conversation regarding race has, in many cases, devolved into a clash between ideologies, where “equality” and “equity” (similar sounding words) stand in stark contrast to one other.
Attempts by early American Marxists to exploit the racial and social discord of the 1960s were thwarted by the civil rights movement which empowered people to capitalize on the unifying ideals of freedom and equality under the law rather than succumbing to the revolutionary principles of pitting people against one another based on racial and ethnic differences.
Those promoting Marxist ideology today in institutions across this country are not striving for “equality” of opportunity and the right to be judged by the content of one’s character but, instead, are demanding “equity” which is a euphemism for critical race theory whose proponents, like UCLA Law Professor Cheryl Harris, advocate for the suspension of private property rights and the seizing and redistribution of land and wealth along racial lines while critical race advocates like Ibram X. Kendi, the director of the Center for Antiracist Research at Boston University, propose the creation of an independent federal Department of Antiracism that could abolish any law at the local, state or national level deemed to be inadequately antiracist.
According to Kendi, “In order to be antiracist, you also have to be anti-capitalist” which is an interesting assertion by someone whose net worth is reported to be in excess of $1 million. Just as we should celebrate Mr. Kendi’s success under an economic system he maligns, he, in turn, should not begrudge the success of others under the same system regardless of color or ethnicity.
I suspect (and fervently hope) that when the members of our own local school board invoke the word “equity” they are equating it with “fairness” and using it as a synonym for “equality” the principle that underpins our country’s foundational documents, was defended with American blood during the Civil War and expressly codified into law with the adoption of the 14th and 15th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Anyone in academia should understand that the proper choice of words is vital to accurately conveying one’s meaning. Regrettably the word “equity” has been hijacked by an ideology that rejects the idea of “equality” and meritocracy in favor of stereotyping people based on race, institutionalizing victimhood and normalizing reverse discrimination.
In the recently passed COVID stimulus bill there is a provision that offers billions of dollars in debt relief to “socially disadvantaged” farmers, but “disadvantaged” white farmers need not apply. In response, a lawsuit has been filed against the Biden Administration by dairy farmer Adam Faust a double amputee who struggles every day against daunting odds both physical and financial but who happens, through no fault of his own, to be white. Increased momentum is building to support the efforts of other average Americans who oppose attempts to further divide us by corrupting constructive dialogue with ideological cliches and hate-filled rhetoric.
A multiracial and bipartisan coalition of people has emerged to combat critical race theory and the mistrust and societal turmoil it is creating. This opposing movement is in no way antithetical to the acknowledgment by a majority of Americans responding to a 2020 NPR/Ipsos poll that the nation must “continue to change to create an equal playing field for Black Americans.”
According to Christopher Rufo, the founder and director of a public policy research center, “Parents are mobilizing against racially divisive curricula and employees are increasingly speaking out against Orwellian reeducation in the workplace” and are supporting, instead, a “common standard that challenges people of all backgrounds to achieve their potential.”
Just as my paternal grandfather immigrated to the United States from Lebanon, a country with a long and tortuous history of religious and ethnic conflict, people from all nations of the world, many of whom have suffered under the oppressive jackboot of Marxism, are clamoring to be admitted into this big, beautiful, messy and imperfect nation we call home. Let’s do our part to ensure that equality under the law, individual rights and freedom of speech and association still exist for them to enjoy.
