Conservative's Compassion

I could almost agree with George Will in his article about race relations, and getting rid of the classification of everyone by narrow racial divisions. The problem I have with his column is the description of affirmative action (he does not identify it specifically) as a "spoils system" as if minorities were getting the lions share of places in colleges, contracting jobs and positions in the upper levels of corporate america. Of course nothing is further from the truth. White america still dominates in nearly all positions of power and financial systems. Take a look at the members of congress and the annual reports of nearly any corporation in this country, and it does not match up to the diverse ethnic and cultural make-up of the country. I fear the only reason that the conservatives want to stop looking at racial and ethnic census data, is because of the disgraceful disparities among the classes in this county, and how those disparities are also along racial and ethnic lines.

And it would fuel the wholesome revolt against the racial and ethnic spoils system that depends upon racial and ethnic categorizations. ... The growing arbitrariness and unreality of the government's official racial categories is a reason for dropping them. Unfortunately, the spoils system that has grown up around them gives interest groups a stake in perpetuating them. - George Will Clarity in a Blurred Racial Picture (washingtonpost.com)