by CJ Clark, Featured Contributor
I AM VERY TIRED of being represented as an elitist, non-caring, racist person. I am not.
I am also tired of political correctness. Yes, I am really tired.
Our country used to be a melting pot, with people from all nations and backgrounds coming to a country that rewarded hard work and a set of core, shared values. Was it perfect, and did people always behave perfectly? Of course not, but we had a fundamental trust that “the system” had our backs.
Now we are nation divided in every way possible, with politicians and other radicals making a living off blaming everything and everybody for discrimination against their protected group.
In 2010, Jim Webb, former Virginia senator penned a Wall Street Journal article “Diversity and the Myth of White Privilege.” It’s a bold, pucker-inducing article, and I found myself looking around cautiously as I was reading it in public, thinking that if anyone saw me reading statements like “After a full generation of such debate, WASP elites have fallen by the wayside and a plethora of government-enforced diversity policies have marginalized many white workers,” someone might think me a racist.
It’s sad that I feel like I need to hide my views for fear of offending someone.
Webb concludes his article by stating that government directed diversity programs should end. Wowie!
He talks about how affirmative action was originally intended to give a fair chance to African Americans, but has morphed over the years to protecting everyone except white, heterosexual men, and argues that anti-discrimination laws should apply to everyone, including white males.
Now Mr. Webb is exploring a run for the US Presidency. I have written about his exploratory campaign before, and I’m still not at a point where I believe he is the right candidate for our country. But man oh man, is he starting to shake things up. By raising issues of the unintended consequences of government diversity programs, he is giving me the courage to say some things that I have been thinking for some time.
I hope that he is doing that for others who have kept quiet for so long.
Here is my hope and prayer for our nation….that we can stop being divisive and start being inclusive. That we can stop stereotyping people into categories, and start respecting differences.
There was a good and valid reason for singling out groups of people, and giving them the chance they might otherwise not have had. But there is no good and valid reason for lumping individual people, who actually belong in multiple groups, into a stereotype for the purposes of saying “the world ain’t bein’ fair to them.” We’re past that.
There are people in poverty, there are people who are treated unfairly, there are people who exhibit bias, there are people who bully others, there are people who make bad decisions, and there are people who exclude others from activities. But they are people, they are not groups or stereotypes. They are complex human beings who have been poorly taught and misled.
Instead of blasting the entire group, can we get back to the basics….a country that has core, solid values of respecting individuals, and creating an even playing field for all. What the individuals do with the opportunity is then subject to consequences. If they accept the opportunity and embrace those core values, they can become successful. If they don’t, they face the consequences.
America is better than this. We have something pretty awesome, but it is teetering on the brink of catastrophe. What if we put our energy into working together rather than working to divide?
Mr. Webb is taking a bold leadership role at a crucial time in our country’s history. Let’s take advantage of his courage, and begin having open and honest dialogues that regain our strength. Will you step up and share your perspective?