Blasting the recent ruling on school desegregation, Hillary Clinton said at last night's debate that the Supreme Court had "turned the clock back" on history. Actually, it's sometimes a good idea to turn the clock back.
C.S. Lewis once wrote, "We all want progress, but if you're on the wrong road, progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road; in that case, the man who turns back soonest is the most progressive."
Hillary thinks that since things in the past used to be very, very bad, whatever we do to move away from that must be very, very good. Therefore since America used to discriminate against blacks, now it must discriminate in favor of blacks. Since the American South used to force blacks and whites apart, now it must force them together.
This is the craziness that passes for "civil rights" today, and this is the craziness that the Supreme Court is trying to stop. The solution to discrimination in jobs, government contracts, and university admissions is not more discrimination; it is to choose the best candidates based on merit. The solution to school segregation is not coerced integration or busing; it is to let children attend their neighborhood school. This is what Thurgood Marshall argued in the Brown case: let kids go to their local schools.
So if we have to discuss this in terms of clocks, I think we should turn ours back to the original vision of Thurgood Marshall and Martin Luther King. This is the idea of the race-neutral or color-blind society. Better, let's go beyond the whole framework of "going backward" and "going forward." As I argue in my book The End of Racism, we need a fresh debate on race that breaks free of old categories and gives up the pretense that any criticism of current policies is a return to the bad old days of the past.
Reader Comments ( Page 1 of 5)
1. Excuse me? Now I know you Rethugly types get stupid whenever the discussion of race comes up - but please don't patronize us with the fantasy that somehow you racist scumbags believe in MLK or the legal work of Thurgood Marshall.
The US Constitution wasn't "colorblind" since it's inception, and required the 13th, 14th, and 15th Ammendments to make black folks citizens with basic rights, and the 19th to extend basic rights to women.
Despite that, the ideological predecessors of the same racist ilk that holds a 5-4 majority on the SCUMUS today, were able to legalize Jim Crow for nearly 100 years - in direct violation of the "principles" you racist assholes suddenly find so dear.
So don't patronize us with bullshit, DD'...
Everyone here knows what you are.
BT at 10:45AM on Jun 29th 2007
2. Shame on you, Mr. D'Souza. Do I need to remind you that you are not considered to be "white" in this colorblind society? It is particularly alarming to me when a person of color supports white racist policies which the recent Bush Supreme Court ruling on desegregation is no matter how they try to dress it up as "fair." Inequality is inherent in our society and many, if not most, of its institutions because racist attitudes are easily passed from one generation to the next. Unless people are forced to confront their racist beliefs, they will not change. This is why it is morally correct for government to help people do the right thing when they don't do it on their own. (Similarly, the government should not permit public referendums on civil rights issues, like gay marriage, because people tend to vote based on their personal prejudices and not on what is morally right for all people.)The Bush Supreme Court is not just turning back the clock on this issue, it has thrown the clock out the window altogether. What a sad day for us all.
Mike at 11:06AM on Jun 29th 2007
3. I cannot believe that AOL is condoning racist remarks. This guy is a person of color, but consistently writes diatribes quoting out of context while making racist remarks. It is astounding that you are promoting him and don't pay attention!
Marti at 11:12AM on Jun 29th 2007
4. Great post, BT! Well said - except for the profanity.
Sue at 11:39AM on Jun 29th 2007
5. These 2 statements could not make more sense: Let children attend their neighborhood school and we should not discriminate in favor of anyone, including blacks. How can someone be so obtuse to disagree with that?
Fernando at 8:55PM on Jun 29th 2007
6. I thought your comments on "Turning Back the Clock" were well thought-out and easy to understand. Too bad the rebuttals (Excuse me?, by BT) and (Shame on you, by Mike) didn't address your statements. Instead, both simply called you names and screamed their biasses too loudly to be taken seriously. In the spirit of keeping comments relevant to your blog entry, my critical comment is, 'why did you print them?' In doing so, you waste readers' time by subjecting us to trivial screaming.
Richard Peterson at 11:45AM on Jun 29th 2007
7. I wasn't born in America but came at a relatively young age. I lived in upstate New York and then moved to the Bronx. As a naturalized American I got to see the great racial divide unfold as I went to public school, attended a state university and ultimately went to law school. There were a handful of African American children in my classes in the Bronx, an even smaller number at the public university and only one in my law school class. I remeber reading Ralph Ellison in high school but the real impact didn't hit me until years later. If I had been black and growing up in America I would be angry. Patience isn't always a virtue. I agree that race should not be the sole criterion in making social decisions, but since it was used in the past against minorities, it would be disigenuous to at least not take it into consideration. That was what the plans were about. The court used an atomic bomb to knock out well thought out modest attaempts to redress painful and longstanding grievances. In this regard I think that since you and I came to America after many of the hardfought civil rights battles, we should be somewhat more circumspect in our veiws.
eric at 11:59AM on Jun 29th 2007
8. I agree with you Dinesh. Your comment ""we need a fresh debate on race that breaks free of old categories...."" is true. But discrimination and racism bind African-Americans together like the Holocost binds together the Jewish community.
And don't think that the race card is going any where to fast either. As long as it's alive and well, it's a very useful tool politicians can tap to get re-elected and a super way to diminish American culture and history. Yep, discrimination, it will be a topic of debate when the first colony on Mars applies for statehood.
Willet at 1:15PM on Jun 29th 2007
9. I think after six years of Bush and a quarter century of the "Republican Revolution" aka the "Era of Deadbeat Government" that has left us hated by the world and ten trillion dollars in debt a lot of Americans would love to "turn back the clock". Just not the way you think. I know "trickle down" worked out great for your country Dinesh but we Americans got screwed in the deal. As for your delusion that America supports this stupidity from the extremist Supreme Court or hates the Clintons.. Well you just pay real close attention to what we do in the next election. You obviously missed the last election and the nineties. I do want to take a moment to thank you. I know many people read your anti-American bullshit and your spewing hate at most of your adopted countrymen and get angry. Many would probably love to "turn back the clock" to the point we made the mistake of giving you a visa. Not me though. I realize foreigners coming to America and then making careers of whining about America and most of the people in it can only help whatever side they're railing against. So keep up the hateful whining. Louder too if you please. Yes, I thank my founding fathers for free speech and God that you're not on my side.. Oh and before you wingnuts say another example of "Liberal Tolerance" hating a poor foreigner simply because he hates America and writes books proving the point.. I'm not a Liberal.. Or a Conservative. Or an extremist blind unthinking wackjob sheep of any stripe. No I'm just like most Americans. NORMAL... Normal and sick and tired of delusional right wing wackadoos supposing they speak for anything other than the lunatic fringe. And you know what? That more than anything. More perhaps than Hillary herself is WHY she will be our next president. If her Presidency is anywhere near as good for America as her husbands was then all Americans owe you thanks for helping make it happen.
Steve at 12:14PM on Jun 29th 2007
10. omigod!! It's difficult for me to believe that ANY person, black, brown, red, yellow or white, buys the "every thing is fine here, we're all equal, the playing field is perfectly level, you'll all do just fine if all you lazy losers out there just decide to pull yourselves up by your boot straps, after all just look at me...." bullshit. A lot of white people have bought into this because they, mistakenly believe it benefits them. It is especially difficult to believe that a person of color buys it. But they do. Justice Thomas, Secretary Rice, AG Gonzalez, are perfect examples. Apparently D'Souza is aspiring to membership in that elite club. You climb as high as you can and it matters little if in the climb you lose your integrity and your soul and you betray, not only the people who look like you, but also everyone who isn't high on the economic ladder. Such blindness, such pathetic eagerness to belong with the 'special' people, such stupidity. I don't get it.
Fabi Romero at 12:09PM on Jun 29th 2007
11. Mr. D'Souza, you are a blast of fresh air in the stagnant stink of liberal blogging. Thank you. BT (#1) and Mike (#2) are typical liberals spewing more garbage into the blogosphere. Too bad clear thinking blogging on this site is outnumbered by the liberal shit. Keep up the good work!
The Truth at 12:18PM on Jun 29th 2007
12. Unbelievable.
"Fresh Debate?" What the hell does that mean?
While people like this (Mr. D'Souza) write books and espouse in columns, I am in there seeing FIRST HAND what can happen in a classroom full of diversity. I have been a public high school teacher for 18 years. This year, one of my students, an African-American from Georgia, said at an end of the year banquet, "I come from a place where there aren't a lot of white people. The didn't like them. Now, I don't even see color - I see what's in your heart." This student, who is going on to college, was "placed" in my high school (bused, really) and like hundreds of others, he learned more about what makes us different and alike his four years. The Supreme Court members who voted for this crap yesterday - how many of them were educated in public schools with diversity? How many of them have ever fought the good fight.
And, FYI, racism exists. It exist even within the faculty at my school. People make assumptions about INTELLIGENCE based on ... and I swear...whether or not a kid gets a free lunch. Unbelievable, but true.
Shame on you for even writing on something you obviously have no experience in - if you did, you would know better.
RodDurham at 12:25PM on Jun 29th 2007
13. What is seriously amusing is the fact that DD's semi-black patoot was only allowed in this country because of Affirmative Action immigration as a result of MLK's efforts.
Sans the Immigration Act of 1965 (which closely followed the Civil Rights Act and borrowed the concepts), which abolished the national origins quota system and barred racial considerations from expressly entering into decisions about immigrant visas...
He wouldn't be here in the first place.
http://www.law.virginia.edu/html/news/2005_spr/kotz.htm
The above documents how MLK and President Johnson worked together, the major changes they were able to implement...
And the formation of the Retugly racist right in response to Civil Rights Legislation.
Bushthwak at 12:58PM on Jun 29th 2007
14. Turning back the clock...very interesting. I agree, we should turn back the clock "only" to see how far we've actually come and to take an extended look at all the mistakes our or your forefathers made. Use there wrongs as a commitment to never travel the same roads that once provided an avenue for error. For once toss the color issues aside, which I know is hard to do especially since those/us of color are still looked upon as being lesser. Rather, look at this as opportunity. (Note, I didn't include the word equal which seems to raise the hair on the backs of so many). An opportunity to attend better schools where teachers seem to have more of an interest in teaching as opposed to simply collecting a pay check and waiting to be transferred to a better school district themselves. An opportunity for those "truly" interested in learning and not just taking up space and clogging up the educational system. So turn the clock back and learn from the mistakes once made.
Now my shoot...D'Sousa, I suggest you re-read what CS Lewis wrote and apply its meaning to something other than this topic. Perhaps we should apply it to the rights for journalistic expression, freedom of the pen? Nope, lets not...then I wouldn't be able to post my comments.
VM...Los Angeles
Vic at 1:15PM on Jun 29th 2007
15. Let's talk about that "race card" -
http://www.whileseated.org/photo/003244.shtml
"Racism doesn't exist..."
Sure it Doesn't.
This is your country on the type of conservative racist pimping that DD' and his ilk sashay their tawdry warez on AOL with.
BT at 1:35PM on Jun 29th 2007