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Show Wcdnoda March 1, 1995 The Daily Utah Chronicle Quotas inherently racist affirmative action is near. The will likely end government Court Supreme contracts awarded on the basis of affirmative action. The court is hearing the protest of a white contractor who, despite a lower Doug Gibson sex-base- Chronicle Editorial Columnist ood racism docs not drive out bad. d VJT It is and dangerously innocent to.'think one can enlist an immoral principle (sorting out individuals by race) m the service of social justice." --Social commentator lance Morrow CC weak-minde- . Attempts to cod minority preferences in hiring, government contracting and school 1 f -- i .4 Mfoniia$peakCTV1 .f"t Brown ;"s f Compare die contrasting sentiments of uiesc two lnnucnuai uDerais. wno manes sense? Who resorts to i, . bid, lost a contract to an Hispanic firm with a higher bid. In California, more than 70 percent of voters support the California Civil Rights Initiative, which says government cannot discriminate against or grant preferential treatment to anyone based on race or sex. It's scheduled to be voted on in 1996. The CCRI echoes what the civil rights move ment was all about in the 1960s. That it's being so bitterly denounced today by lends evidence to supporters how sick the practice has become. Affirmative action, as evidenced by admissions arc "totally and completely racist." d 3 Speaker Brown's remarks, causes the ugly term racist to lose a lot of its meaning. No longer is racism just an act or an ideology. 1t's now an excuse; a way to escape respon- siouiiy ui a. way w uum unc m upuusc politically-correc- t ? demagoguery Affirmative action is No longer is racism just an indefensible pracact or an an Its ideology. tice. No rational argu- ment can support it It devalues the accomplishments of minorities and women. On campuses it incites racial hatred in students who never now an excuse; a way to escape responsibility or a way to label those who oppose politically-corre- ct positions. proponents are forced to resort to name calling. Rep. Charles Range! compared those opposed to affirmative action, with than race or sex. This will still provide a hand to historically Memory," recalls how the majority of his classmates in college came from middle, and rich households. ,' Liberals, frightened by the political implications of next year's CCRI, are trying to overhaul affirmative action. The Clinton administration has drafted a team to recval-uate the practice. Black columnist Clarence Page agrees that affirmative action must be targeted to need, rather than skin hue. The most obvious problem with affirma-live action is that' it tries to redress past dis crimination by unfairly penalizing others, Our grandmothers' taught us two wrongs don't make a right. Finally, government may soon take that advice to heart upper-middl- When affirmative action was drafted, Hubert Humphrey and President Lyndon Baines Johnson assured that" it didnl mean quotas. 1 he intent was equaliSen. race-base- d any preferential treatment, limit it to college admissions and base it on economic disadvantage, rather amrrnauvc-action-advantagc- Nazis, ty of opportunity. Somehow the mantra became "equality of .outcome" The height of .idiocy; was .attained ilast. year when California Gov. Pete Wilson was forced to veto a bill sponsored by state Sen. Tom Hayden requiring that state universities set aside a certain amount of diplomas for minorities. and Fortunately, the end of If we must keep Rodriguez, author of, "Hunger Of . s Equality the top priority Brandon Burt have a vision. And, as much as I hate it, their vision of how America should be is a compelling one. The conservatives argue that, by giving US. corporations free reign to go about their business unimpeded by public mandates, they will be more able to earn hefty profits, strengthening the economy and indirectly benefiting us all. It is our business, not the government's, to make our lives happier, and to pursue those things which will give the next generation an even better life. Turning a profit is what American business does best and if deregulation is going to somehow enhance our ability to pursue happiness and fulfillment in our lives, then by all means, we should support the con- - They 3 iVFS Chronicle Editorial Columnist f resonates with the sound, American principal of free enterprise. laws It is just possible that affirmative-actio- n are no longer needed because everybody in this country has become so rational in the past few years that it would never occur to anybody in any personnel office anywhel&discrmiinate ; gUlllUURlUfci.t It's also just possible that Newt Gingrich The labor movement, the black dvil rights movement, and the environmental movement ) might fly to the moon. But however much we have all met with considerable opposition from may wish to sec these dreams become realities, the private sector, because the goals of these the tiresome, prosaic sense of objective reality leads us to bebeve that, no, Mr, Gingrichisnot movements were not compatible with business' ' about to sprout wings, and no, .we have not of goal pure profit connave Decome a naaon cnocK mu oi ranonai, preju tnese movements undoubtedly, e tributed to the abilities beings. It is an ovcnimplifka-tioof countless Americans to say that all supto pursue happy, ful all, U IS difficult to filled lives. After all, it porters of the CCRI are racist creeps who are is difficult to make any kind of life for oneself, hoping to bring back the Oneself TttUch leSS floppy less much a happy one, days when blacks and eOTUm when one is earning a Hispanics knew their s the dollar a day at the fac-dollar CUty factories. place as servants, and dishwashers, tones. and when women stayed The conservative kitchen where they belonged. in the in nation one: a as I a is, vision, pregnant say, compelling which everybody can be considered for After all, some of its supporters are members of minority groups themselves. employment on the basis of merit alone. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has Working toward this goal, conservatives in for California are sponsoring a bill called the advocated abolishing affirmative-actio"California Civil Rights Initiative," Basically, the years However, he rarely mentions that he to thank for the bill exempts California businesses from fbllow-tnlargely has affirmative-actiohe has become affirmative-actio- n so successhad to guidelines which; they opportunities ful. the say, give minorities an unfair advantage in We can all work to promote the ideals of job market thereby impeding the private secfeel will whomever hire tor's ability to peace, tolerance and equal opportunity. There is they enhance their ability to turn a profit. always something we can do to help each other, Since bg profits apparently invariably and to make our nation stronger, better and enhance tout ability to pursue happy, mlfilling freer. The day will come when all people in this lives, it would seem at first that Califomians would be fools not to support the conservatives country will really be given a fair shake, when 9CTV4UVC3. , in . : , dice-fre- n positions. disadvantaged per Richard sons. such entertained notions previously. To defend it, e Jflgr nuuuanykmdqfhfeflr a a a at stable-hand- n n g in their compelling vision. In fact, we need not even consider the possible outcomes of such an initiative to know that it is a good one. We can instinctively feel that it the Constitutional right to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" becomes a reality for everyone regardless of race, gender, or anything else. Unfortunately that day is not today. Is Affirmative Action Still Needed? 56 Not Needed J 57 J 41 Needed I source: USA TODAY STOGW At the (ARL-FRANZE- Help for women H Help for racial minorities For University 41 Don 0 CNN Gallup Poll AiyjiM of Utah Students P. 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