I want everyone to have an equal chance to succeed- all things being equal.
All things being equal is a very important point. That means that color, race, creed, sexual orientation should have no part in a person’s ability to succeed, or be the reason they fail.
I am tired of hearing pandering politicians demand that we need a certain percentage of minorities in the senate, house, police force, a certain college, workplace or anywhere!
Wouldn’t it be nice to have more female police officers? Well how do we go about getting more women in law enforcement? Is the plan to advertise about job opportunities in media with a majority of female users? That’s acceptable- as long as there is a legitimate need to increase the number of females in law enforcement and male applicants are also sought. Should we insist on at least a percentage of police hires being large enough, or skilled enough, to win a one-on-one altercation with a very large person? If that is a reasonable concern, how do we make sure the large person hired is on the scene when needed? Or should we higher small people and send two or three to every call, because you never know when a situation will become violent. If we do higher diminutive people, and opt to send two or more to every call, would that be a form of intimidation?
If we hire smaller people (At one time police applicants were required to be 6′ tall in many jurisdictions) are we taking a chance that there will be more instances of lethal force? Every fight a police officer is in is, essentially, a gun fight. I say this because an “On Duty” police officer is required to wear their weapon as part of the uniform. Certainly, there are exceptions such as some undercover operations- but they are rare. I say the fight is a gun fight because if the officer is rendered unconscious, or overpowered, the offender could then take control of the officer’s duty weapon.
Maybe making the country diverse is more complicated than it seems?
How do we choose, “Who is more equal?” Who is in charge of determining what applicants need a boost to make life in America fair? I drove through a very wealthy area in the suburbs of Chicago recently, a beautiful Black woman passed me and pulled into a driveway of a building that, at first, appeared to be a multi-family home, but turned out to be a single-family residence commonly referred to as a mansion. As she was exiting her BMW I saw a Black man and two children come out to meet her. Does she deserve reparations? Does he deserve a government contract based on diversity? Who knows, maybe he or she already has one!
Are you aware that there were Black slave owners in America? Can their descendants collect reparations while my family- that never owned slaves- will be forced to pay?
How about Hispanics? The government has spent millions, probably billions, of dollars to add a Spanish version of brochures, signage and other devices that are used to direct or instruct. Private industry has been ordered to do the same thing, in most cases, also at great expense!
Inevitably, the question comes up, “What about all the other languages spoken by immigrants?” That was dealt with, but not to the satisfaction of many who complain regularly that The U.S. has not done enough.
According to Wikipedia (2023), English is the only language spoken in 77.5% of U.S. homes. Surprisingly, the United States federal government does not have a declared national language, however, 32 of the 50 states and all 5 U.S. territories have declared English as their official language. Spanish is spoken by 13.7% of the U.S. population according to the American Community Survey of the U.S. Census Bureau. Other languages include a variety of Native American languages including, but not limited to Mainland Native Americans, Alaskan Natives, and Native Hawaiians. Additional languages were brought from Europe, Africa, Asia, other parts of the Americas, and Oceania including multiple dialects, creole languages, pidgin languages, and sign languages plus others.
Can you imagine how big a highway sign would have to be to present a simple message like, “Chicago 10 miles” in all of those languages with a readable font?
According to the site, English Raven, there is an English language proficiency test in the citizenship process, but it is not an absolute requirement. An applicant must prove proficiency in the English language by passing sections on speaking, reading and writing English. The test is designed to assess practical English skills relevant to everyday life and citizenship. If an applicant has difficulty learning English, there are exceptions to the rule including age waivers and disability waivers.
I have digressed, back to diversity!
As I have pondered the pro’s and cons of diversity my main problem with the process is the question, “If someone who would not have been given the job, contract, scholarship etc. is allowed in, thanks to a diversity bill, or ruling, who is pushed out?”
If it is prejudicial, and a violation of constitutional rights to discriminate against anyone based on their race, color, or creed- how can our government make quotas as to how many minorities must be hired? How can our government adopt a policy of preferences for minority businesses?
I am a White male. A member of the most influential group in America, if not the world! But, in my humble opinion, I have not reaped any treasures from my status. Before you start yelling at the screen, let me explain.
Even though both of my parents worked at a time when most women did not. My family still struggled financially. We got everything we needed, eventually, but we did not get everything we wanted. I struggled to get jobs. My dad was a midlevel manager, and my mother was a secretary. I had no pull anywhere! If there was a diversity place needed, I would very likely be let go or pushed aside in favor of the diversity hire!
I have an army of friends in the same position as me. We are mostly White, we are all hard workers. Some of us are college graduates, some worked in the trades and a few held delivery and service jobs. Most of us have worked closely with a variety of minorities. We have worked in union and non-union shops, a few of us owned our own businesses at one time. We are Americana.
I have worked side by side with females, Blacks, Hispanics, Asians and others. I consider all of them friends to this day. I have been supervised by the same diverse group. I never had problems with any of them as co-workers or supervisors!
One of my closest friends was a male Black, Johnny/Musa, had a background similar to mine. He was from Joliet, I was from Elmhurst. He had 5 siblings, I had 5 siblings. His mother worked most of his life. My mother worked most of my life. He was searching for a religion that was a “good fit” for his belief’s. I was a devout Catholic. He had been raised as a protestant and was looking for something else. While we worked out after work he would “interview” me as to why I was the way I was and if I felt religion had anything to do with who I turned out to be.
I tried to convert him but failed. He chose to enter the Muslim faith, but we remained close friends until we both retired, and he moved out of state.
Johnny, who turned his name to Musa when he converted, said he was against affirmative action and diversity quotas and added he felt they were insulting. In his words, “I’m every bit as good as any White guy and I would be insulted if I was offered a job, or a promotion based on my color.
Another question I have, sort of related, is: If it is wrong on every level to say, “The N word” why is it common to call White ladies “Karens” and to demean the “founding fathers” as “Rich Old White Men.” I don’t disagree that the “N” word should not be used, but why can demeaning words referencing Whites be said regularly? And just some additional food for thought, in 1776 James Monroe was 18, Andrew Jackson was 8, The Marquis de Lafayette was 18, Aaron Burr was 21, Alexander was 21, James Madison was 25, John Paul Jones was 28, Thomas Jefferson was 33, John Hancock was 39. George Washington was about the oldest one I could find- he was 44.
Maybe it’s time to do a modern age- reset. Maybe we should start looking at everyone as equal. Doing so would be embracing the writing of those “Rich Old White Men” who founded a nation without a monarchy in the hopes that we could enjoy freedom and liberty!
Thank you for reading to the end. Please comment on what you liked and what you disagree with. I look forward to hearing from all of you.