Do you remember back in the late 60's early 70's and a bit beyond when affirmative action came into play? Now if you do remember you will also remember that there were some very important reasons these ideas were put into law that went beyond our obvious moral obligation to right past wrongs, and that had to do with the way we perceive the "job" someone else is doing.
Here in the south there was a particularly focussed effort to paint this legislation as placing people of lesser skills and capabilities into positions of authority. A sort of great society carpet bagger. My parents, who were average middle class whites with a middle- middle class income, aspirations of owning a new car every few years and a ranch style home, vacation plans for the summer and weekends off, were still working at the time (they have since retired comfortably), came home each day and complained about this this black or that black, that got promoted when they shouldnt have, or got transferred to a nicer location when they shouldnt have. This was our comfortable little life - sitting in judgement of others while listening to NASCAR on weekends and downing a Mt. Dew. Quite cozy really...
NOT.
Looking at it 30 years on, it is interesting how that company they worked for went on to be quite a large corporation in itself and it provided a nice pension for retirement, a retirees banquet and dance each year through their UNION, and medical insurance in perpetuity. YUP, they get free medical care until they die. Oddly, those "blacks that didnt deserve it" did rather well for all involved - who would have guessed it. They DID deserve their positions and they made a company profitable and caring about their employees, a trick ROMNEY hasnt seemed to have learned yet for all of his "business acumen."
I say "who would have guessed it" rhetorically of course, because we should have guessed it. Affirmative action is based on the idea of perceived accomplishments and actual access to create a even playing field. It has been very successful INSPITE OF SOUTHERN ATTEMPTS to get around it, though there is still a long way to go. Think of it this way (#years of AA + # years of cheating to get around it) / (# years of slavery + # years of prejudicial and segregated living). It strikes me that this number isnt close to 1 yet, so yes it takes time to clean up what our fathers did. But my point is that industry did well, business were humane and provided things like benefits, pensions, etc. And my parents did well, and continue to do well.
But they are then as now convinced, through the rhetoric of political campaigners that should know better, through the news and TV that should be providing accurate pictures of our society, and through lunch table talk that apes these other sources, that blacks are less capable and AA simply made companies, businesses less effective hurting our society. WELL, malarkey! It never did hurt our corporate enterprise, because they were qualified! That was the whole premise of AA, and it was right from the beginning. The attitudes and talking points of architects of the "southern strategy" were lying then, just as they are lying now. You hear it coming out of FAUX NOISE, out of local campaigns, and even out of my parents own mouths. President Obama is a nice guy but he is just in over his head. Ann Romney - it is time for the grown ups, is another version of this. And then there is the ever popular "every time anyone says they dont like Obama someone cries racist..." Really, you think? Lets see why that might be:
1) over 40% of white males state that they could not be induced to vote for a black man for president regardless.
2) 52 % of Americans harbor racists attitudes or opinions.
3) President Obama's performance - not enough said?
a) revised numbers from 2009 shows a likely scenario of the US going into a depression without government intervention which was opposed by the GOP. Projected unemployment 20%, loss of industry, labor skills, educational resources. Increase crime, and crumbling infrastructure.
b) Within the next 50 years studies show that the number one impediment to CORPORATE growth will be medical benefits. Companies competing in the U.S. for workers must offer medical care packages that are not required in other countries due to social medicine systems. In other words, a big consideration in US business offshoring of jobs is not the hourly wage, but the benefits. Without attention to medical care and retirement, the US will likely NOT be competitive for future jobs.
c) The knockon effect of loosing automotive manufacturing in the US could amount to a reduction of as much as 20% of total manufactured goods exports. If GM and Chrysler went bankrupt the US manufacturing sector looses not only immediate jobs, but also the capabilities required for other manufacturing sectors. Managed bankruptcies and leveraged buyouts didnt work for KayBee toys and wouldnt have worked here either due to the lack of private capital etc.
d) Income inequality seems to be a bigger concern for the long term economy than debt levels since public debt is a different beast than private debt.
e) managed and restricted capitalism is important for market viability. Restrictions on Wall Street leads to a greater selection of banking options and a safer and more robust trading environment generally. At least this is the consensus of a very very wide majority of economists.
f) It is not whether government is big or small, it is whether or not it is effective when it comes to managing emergencies such as Sandy. Taking your cabinet appointment seriously really does matter.
g) the rate of recovery from the great recession is on the order of that in the great depression. It is not slower than would be expected if we account for the current global competitive position. And much faster than expected given GOP obstructionism.
h) Global standing and cooperation is an important part of global security. When coupled with the largest and most expensive military in the world, enhanced global information networks are better able to identify and deal with threats offshore.
i) Global trade is a result of products and policy. With manufacturing loss stabilized and medical care beginning to take shape, long term prospects for US manufacturing base is improving though not yet optimal.
j) I could go on - government accountability, transparency, access, lobbying, ALL things the US public has wanted for a long time.
Just so you know, I did look all of this up. Sorry I havent put in reference links, but I am in the middle of a rant...
In other words, FDR took a long term view of what the US needed and acted upon it with leadership. So did Obama. FDR was loved by a large majority of the voters at the time, Obama has been hated by a large but vocal minority. Many more see him as the lesser of two evils. However, if it wasnt Mitt, but some other white guy that was slightly more moderate and trustworthy, Obama would likely loose!
WHY you ask? When the tried and true "shared sacrifice to build a better tomorrow" is plainly and obviously the best route to take, why would we turn our backs on FDR (Obama)? Well you might say that we as Americans have just gotten a bit stupid, lazy, and privileged. But I think Ann said it best - it is time for the adults to take over.
Americans have wanted and do welcome the changes President Obama has brought shows poll after poll, study after study (once you remove the Obama tag to them). So once you remove the improbable, what is left is likely the truth. Racism is still alive and well in America. And as the FAUX NOISE dogwhistles of racism ring, Americans still salivate.
(As I am writing this the second robo call of the morning has come in for Romney. Obama has turned in four years of trillion dollar deficits...")
k) the growth in deficit spending has slowed under the current administration representing only the second president in the last 30 years to have done so.
So, where does this leave us? Racism is hidden, it lurks behind pulpits and under government contracts. It doesnt wear a white hood anymore, it wears a business suit and smiles like a used car salesman. Secondly, racism kills. Not only at a personal level but at a national level where a populace is willing to give up its deepest hopes and aspirations because we can not see that we are on the right path due to the black guy leading the way. You may not like President Obama because he didnt fight for your particular cause. But if you dont like him because of "Business" "Wealth" "taxes" "spending" then you are more than likely willingly uniformed or a racist. There just is no other way. He did exactly what you asked for.
President Obama is the FDR of our time. He is literally the black knight on a horse that has saved us again from ourselves and those that would enslave us to the powers of the very very few. I voted for him this week and my sticker said "I voted - for Obama." And when he wins it is because he WAS the right guy for the job... it has nothing to do with his skin.
Our republican brethren were wrong about AA. And they are wrong now. A truly market based society doesnt care about color, but it cares about outcomes. Perceiving those outcomes through the lens of racism is what is killing us and our country, not debt, not taxes, not foreign competition. It is high time we all take those glasses off and see the day for what it is. President Obama has been and will continue to be the right guy for the job.