According to the Wall Street Journal, African?Americans comprise 17 percent of the federal government’s workforce, while they are roughly 13 percent of the U.S. population. Why, then, has Barack Obama signed Executive Order 13583, which promotes “Diversity and Inclusion in the Federal Workforce”?
(Originally posted in January 2012.)
Few government policies are more counterproductive than affirmative action. Its origins trace back to the presidential terms of John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson, both of whom sought to curb discrimination and improve the lives of, namely, impoverished blacks. At the time, affirmative action served its purpose. Today, however, affirmative action is outdated and detrimental; it perpetuates a colorized America, an America of the past.
Most importantly, affirmative action discourages accountability among blacks. Proponents utilize blacks’ failures as a justification to increase our affirmative action efforts. And, black Americans’ successes are too often attributed not to one’s work ethic or ingenuity, but to affirmative action. Thus, it categorizes the black man as either a victim of societal racism or a product of this victimhood scheme. Either way, it classifies him firstly as the member of a race and a policy, and secondly, as a member of society.
Favoring color over competence is counterproductive, regardless of the intended beneficiaries’ race. Consider the following role?reversed example: similar to other industries, the National Basketball Association is an industry in which capability supersedes color. It’s no secret that, generally, the NBA’s most talented players are African?American. Why? It’s because coaches seek to assemble championship?caliber teams, and therefore select players based on nothing more than talent.
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