Just when I thought that every public institution in America had lost its collective marbles, the Supreme Court finally made some sane decisions this summer, striking down three outdated or illegal policies.
Affirmative Action was a necessary policy when it was first instituted. Until the mid 1960s, African- Americans had been denied entry to jobs, schools and public services because of their race. The schools they could attend were almost always poorly staffed and inadequately funded. “Separate but Equal” was a lie.
So the government was right to require all-white schools, especially the more elite colleges, to accept a set number of black students, even though their preparation for those schools was inadequate. Where were they to have gotten that preparation when it was denied to them? The plan worked, and with hard work black students could finally get the education they needed to succeed.
The disadvantages of Affirmative Action were obvious to non-black students, of course. Despite their supposedly better preparation, they lost out to less-prepared black students who were accepted to top schools to fill Affirmative Action quotas. But that temporary discrimination was only fair, since white students had always been given preference before, and black students had not been considered for admission at all.
Fast forward to 2023. In the 54 or so years since Affirmative Action began, thousands of black students — over two and a half generations — have been helped to catch up, achieve and perform on a level with everyone else.
Now that the goal of equal provision of college education has been achieved, the Supreme Court realized that Affirmative Action had, over 54 years, achieved its goal but then become unfair, creating a reverse discrimination against non-black races. So the Justices struck it down.
Some people are angry about the decision, either believing that the policy should become an entitlement of black students or that 54 years was not long enough to pay for years of discrimination. Some felt that it’s still harder for black students in public schools to get the best preparation. But that can be true for students in all races. Some felt that Affirmative Action should be left in place as a punishment for earlier discrimination. But how long are non-black races to be held accountable for discrimination they never personally practiced?
I believe that leaving Affirmative Action in place longer was telling black students that they remain inferior and aren’t able to prepare themselves, do not work hard enough, and do not have the ability to succeed without these perpetual crutches. What was a beneficial policy 54 years ago became a subtle form of psychological discrimination against black students – “you can’t succeed unless the white establishment lowers the requirements for you.”
That is simply not true, and we have the achievements of thousands of black citizens to prove it.
In another decision, the Supreme Court also declared it illegal to require Christian workers to perform tasks which require them to flaunt the law of the God they serve. The particular case was that of a Christian graphic artist who was being forced to do create a website for a same-sex wedding. The Constitution says that the state cannot make laws infringing on a citizen’s religious beliefs.
If such a law can be made, then wouldn’t it be fair to make a law that says the church buses could round up all atheists on Sunday mornings and force them into church services? The court did the sensible, legal, thing.
And finally, the Supreme Court ruled in early July that the president of the United States cannot cancel the college loan debt of thousands of students and then require US taxpayers to pay off those loans.
This decision was a no-brainer. Those students contracted those loans knowing they would be required to pay them back. They borrowed the money to further their own aspirations of making more money with a college degree. Then they resented the fact that they had to spend some of that money paying back a loan for something they had already enjoyed – their college days. People who had the sense to either save up for that education in advance, work their way through school, or choose a job that didn’t require a college degree could not be forced to pay the debts of those who thought they’d have their collegiate cake and eat it too.
We all knew the idea was illegal, even bumbling President Biden, who promised it. But he also knew that most kids don’t know enough about government to realize it couldn’t be done and that he could accuse Republicans for getting the proposal struck down. He’ll do that, of course, but at least the highest court in the land saw the ridiculous proposition for what it was and struck it down.
So, all in all, we’ve had a pretty sensible month in the USA — for a change.
