The usual spin from the usual suspects followed the Supreme Court’s recent decision that race still matters in college admissions. For example, U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek — of governor’s office sit-in fame — called on Jeb Bush to now correct the “mistake with One Florida.”
Four points:
*The Court’s decision on the University of Michigan Law School case reaffirms that affirmative action is permitted. But it’s not mandated.
*Back to Bakke. What wasn’t settled 25 years ago remains unsettled today. Justice Sandra Day O’Connor advises waiting to see how the landscape looks in 2028. Chances are, no different.
*Dwight Eisenhower had no idea what he was getting in Earl Warren. Ronald Reagan’s legacy now includes Justice O’Connor, the diversity diva.
*Semantics rule. Strategic word choice has always been a vital part of selling social agendas — as well as creating effective push polls. To wit: the connotations of “the homeless” as opposed to “vagrants.” Or “standards” and “censorship.” Or “pro-choice” and “pro-life” instead of “pro-abortion” and “anti-abortion.” On “affirmative action,” itself a benign enough term, polled Americans consistently have favored “equal opportunity.” Not so, however, when it’s referenced as “racial preference” — let alone “reverse discrimination” and “racial quotas.”
And word has it none of this linguistic legerdemain is about to change. Anyone hear an affirmative action celebrant crowing: “Yea, we won. Lower standards stay”?