Don't Ask, Don't Tell - More Affirmative Action

President Obama recently went before a Gay Organization and proclaimed that he would end, Don't Ask, Don't Tell in the military. Don't Ask, Don't Tell was installed by President Bill Clinton as a compromise to allow Gays to serve in the military provided they kept their sexual orientation private. Under this policy if Gays come out of the gun closet, so to speak, they are subject to discharge; however, this policy is not uniformly enforced. In any case, Gays in the military want to be open about their sexual orientation and have demanded elimination of Don't Ask, Don't Tell since it was implemented years ago. I always thought Don't Ask, Don't Tell should apply to everyone not just Gays. After all, when was the last time you walked up to someone and said, I am a heterosexual, how about you? Sexual orientation, at work and the military is just like any other job, is really no one's business as a statement of fact.

In any case, when Don't Ask, Don't Tell is eliminated by Obama, the only question should be will the rights of both the minority and the majority be protected. If a young, heterosexual soldier is uncomfortable sharing close quarters with a Gay soldier, what options will there be for the heterosexual soldier. And, if a Gay soldier makes unwanted advances toward a heterosexual soldier, will the Gay soldier be subject to sexual harassment charges the same as a heterosexual man that makes advances toward a heterosexual woman. And, how will the military deal with the many Christians, Jews and Muslims that see homosexuality as a sin. In other words, how will religious rights be protected? These are very difficult questions because in trying to protect the rights of the minority in the United States, very often the rights of the majority are trampled. This does nothing but create division and resentment that in the end is often directed at the minority groups seeking the protection of their rights that very few would deny anyway.

Affirmative Action is a case in point. We now have a half Black President of the United States, which is the only thing I like about Obama. As a former history and government teacher, I see the election of Obama as the culmination of a civil rights struggle that has gone on for 200 years or more in the United States. Obama's election is a clear statement that anyone who works hard and gets a great education can become President of the United States even an Italian American, Roman Catholic. Remember, it was once a big deal for a Roman Catholic to become President, which was shattered by John Kennedy, the first Catholic every elected. So, with Obama's election, why do we still need Affirmative Action, which is designed to give preference in hiring, school admissions etc. to women and minorities?

Gays are generally not included in the Affirmative Action class because in fact, they tend to be better educated and very successful, even though they claim job discrimination, they make more money than average Americans. Go figure. I guess discrimination against Gays in America is not alive and well after all. The reality is that smart, well educated people of all races and genders tend to be successful. And, poorly educated people with lower intelligence of all races tend not to be successful. There are far more poor White people on Welfare than Black people; though the percentage of Blacks on Welfare is higher than the percentage of Whites. If anything if Affirmative Action has any validity at all, it should be based on economics not on race or gender. In other words, if we are going to give preference to any candidate for hire or schooling, preference should be given to people who come from poor families regardless of their race or gender. i.e. Should Obama's children be given preference rather than poor White children from Appalachia? I certainly hope not since Obama's children though Black are rich, smart and very advantaged. However, under the current Affirmative Action system, Obama's children would be given preference just because they are Black. This is ridiculous. It is time to end Affirmative Action, which is inherently discriminatory against someone, in favor of hard work as has always been the case in the United States before we created a "victim" society, which actually hurts the very people it is intended to help.

In any case, just like Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Affirmative Action is another case of government meddling that singles out a particular group of people for preferential treatment. By attempting to protect the rights of one group, usually the rights of the majority and or other minorities are trampled. The recent court case involving White and Latino Firemen, that played by the rules and earned promotions is a case in point. These Fireman took civil service exams and scored higher than Blacks; but were then denied promotions by management because not enough Blacks scored well. The Firemen went to the Supreme Court and won on the basis of reverse discrimination; but it took years for them to prevail in court. There were no winners in this case. Blacks, who need to study harder for the next time the test is given are big losers because they then are viewed as the obstacle to someone else's success. How can this be good for race relations in the United States?

Latinos, another minority, did well on this test and were denied a promotion because Blacks did not do as well. Can we just admit that some people taking this particular test, regardless of race, might have studied harder or might have been smarter than some others taking the test. As another case in point, if not for other criteria, Asian Americans would probably be admitted to the University of California in even greater numbers than now because they score highest on admission tests. These Asian kids do nothing but study. Asians experience reverse discrimination in order to bring balance to California university admissions; but Asians are not included in Affirmative Action policies even though they represent a minority in the United States. God created all of us; but he did not give all of us the same intelligence. To be certain, Barack Obama is a lot smarter, though misguided, than a very large percentage of White people, which just proves that it is genes that matter and to some degree nurturing during upbringing, not skin color.

Finally, President Obama and the Democrat Socialists that control Congress are pushing through Hate Crime legislation, even though most states already have Hate Crime Legislation. Again, this legislation is based on the notion that murder of a minority or someone who is Gay is somehow worse than murder of anyone else requiring special treatment under the law. Again, the incidence of murder or other violent crimes against the majority population are far more prevalent than murder or violent crimes against one of these protected classes. And, the preponderance of murders in the Black community are Black on Black crimes and usually drug related. So, is it a "Hate Crime" when a Black person kills another Black person? Is it a "Hate Crime" when a Gay person kills another Gay person? Apparently, it is only a "Hate Crime" when a White person under 40 (those over 40 are protected by age discrimination laws) who is not handicapped (those people are protected by the Americans for Disabilities Act) commits the crime.

The reality is that murder or violence committed against any American is by its very nature a "Hate Crime". If a White Male, Italian American, Roman Catholic, who is very opposed to abortion, like me and millions of others are murdered, do we not bleed? Certainly, there are potential murderers in this country that hate Whites, Italian Americans, Roman Catholics and people who oppose abortion, so if I am murdered by one of them, I suppose it should be characterized as a "Hate Crime" right? But that would not be the case because Whites, Italian Americans and certainly not Roman Catholics that oppose abortion are not included as a protected class under the definition of "Hate Crimes" unless we also happen to be Gay or perhaps half Black or half Jewish.

Clearly, as usual Government is the Problem and not the Solution in this matter like so many. We have reached the point of political correctness and interest group politics in America on a scale that is ridiculous. Evil is evil. It does not matter what race or gender it is directed toward. Discrimination is indiscriminate and at one time or another has been practiced against all who are different. My Italian grandfather with a 4th grade education, who spoke no English, was no doubt called a WOP, which stood for Without Papers; though he came with papers because I have them, or he may have been called a Dego because he drank red wine; not sure where that one came from; but it did not stop him from working hard and being successful. In those days, there was no Welfare or any other "victim" concepts that are used today as convenient excuses by people who want to blame others for their lack of success.

Grandpa, like millions of other immigrants, did ok and lived the American dream because the government provided him no special protection or treatment. My grandfather worked very, very hard to achieve success, yet he always spoke of Bel America (Beautiful America) not because America offered him singled out, special protections based on his class or ethnicity; but because America provided him opportunity that he would never have had in the Italy of the times. Until we get back to one America that discriminates against no one on any basis, we will continue to be a very divided nation. As Abraham Lincoln once said, "A Nation Divided Against Itself Cannot Stand". As Democrat Socialist politicians seek to divide our people to win votes and promote their Socialist schemes, they bring harm to the fabric of our nation. We must stand up and JUST SAY NO.