5/15/00 4:00 p.m.
Stopping The Triumph of Quotas
Americans cannot remain silent.

By Roger Clegg, general counsel, Center for Equal Opportunity

he only thing necessary for the triumph of evil," wrote Burke, "is for good men to do nothing." As usual, he was right and wrote for all time; his words have a particular application to race relations in early 21st century America.

You might not guess it based on media coverage and the pronouncements of what black conservative Shelby Steele calls "the grievance elite," but race relations in this country are good and getting even better all the time. No, they're not perfect and, yes, there is still racism, but the world will never be perfect and there will always be prejudice. What's remarkable is the dramatic transformation of American society in less than a generation. It is now illegal to discriminate in just about any public transaction: employment, voting, education, housing, credit, you name it. Our schools, churches, and popular culture — to say nothing of politicians and academics — all condemn racial and ethnic prejudice. Furthermore, the amount of racism and discrimination are likely to continue declining, since the younger you are, the less likely you are to be a bigot.

All we have to do is keep things moving in the right direction. We don't have to be race-obsessed; in fact, we shouldn't be. Time, and benign neglect, are on the side of the good guys.

But there are, unfortunately, powerful forces that want to kick things off track. They want Americans to focus on race, and they love identity politics in general and racial politicking in particular.

Too many leaders in the Democratic party, and particularly its nominee for the presidency, Al Gore, are shamelessly demagogic when it comes to championing the use of racial and ethnic preferences. So are individuals like Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson and organizations like the NAACP. They have been extremely successful in mau-mauing businesses, especially big business, into adopting hiring and promotion preferences; pressure has also been put on business through litigation and regulation to hire and promote with an eye on the racial bottom line. And the disease of political correctness in our universities has made them racialist, too.

Let there be no mistake about it: There is no greater threat to race relations today than what is labeled "affirmative action." It breeds resentment and stigmatization. It is the institutionalization, by what Ward Connerly calls "silly little boxes," of a race-based view of the world. It fosters a victim mindset among minorities rather than urging success through serious study and hard work — the only way that existing gaps in education and income will ever close.

The courts have been very helpful in checking the use of racial and ethnic preferences. But it is a mistake to put a great deal of reliance there. For one thing, most of the good work by the judiciary stems from narrowly decided decisions by the Supreme Court. A few retirements from the Court and a few new justices, and all that will change. More generally, there is nothing in our republic done by courts that cannot be resisted and undone by the political branches of government.

No, to prevent the triumph of evil, good people need to speak out. People need to stand up to the race-baiters.

But so far, our so-called leaders have been much less willing to do so than the average Joe. We have the latter to thank for the passage of ballot initiatives in California and Washington banning the use of state preferences based on race, ethnicity, and sex. But where has Congress been, and where will George W. Bush be, in condemning this discrimination?

Consider the recent events in Florida. Governor Jeb Bush proposed getting rid of some preferences based on race, ethnicity, and sex in the state's employment, contracting, and college admissions. His One Florida Initiative was very modest, leaving in place many preferences and bending over backwards to ensure that there would still be plenty of "diversity."

But even this was too much for the Al Sharpton wannabes. There were sit-ins, protests, and condemnations — all in the name of civil rights, even though this time their aim was to perpetuate discrimination, not end it. Among those participating were the NAACP, Jesse Jackson, the National Urban League, the League of United Latin American Citizens, and the National Organization for Women.

Worse, the attention given One Florida by national political leaders has all been negative. Al Gore has been quick to condemn One Florida, urging a crowd to "stand [sic] with Kendrick Meek and Tony Hill" (two lawmakers whose sit-in at the governor's office suite helped spark the opposition to One Florida). And Jeb's own brother George has failed to come to its defense. It is very disheartening to find such reluctance.

The One Florida Initiative will not turn back the clock. To the contrary, it is progressive, because it keeps us on the right road. It is another step in the right direction. We should continue deinstitutionalizing the role of race in American society, and resist the efforts bad people are making to reinstitutionalize it.

But for that to happen, the good people have to have the courage to speak out. Those leaders — Democrat and Republican — who believe in E pluribus unum rather than silly little boxes have got to say so.

They cannot leave the field to the Als, Gore and Sharpton. By doing so they send the message that they are somehow ashamed of being in favor of one standard for all Americans rather than different standards for different races — for a color-blind America instead of a color-coded one. The only shame is in not speaking out, and thereby helping the bad guys to triumph.