Maggie's Farm

It was one of those many poorly thought-out ideas that people reflexively thought was going to fix things. People discriminate against black people. The scales are weighted against them. Let's keep adding weight to one side of the scales until they balance.

There were unintended side effects, as always: the idea of different categories of Americans, rather than an American unity, is now reinforced, preventing those who are color blind from being so. We have made the best behavior impossible in order to prevent the worst. Secondly, we must then adopt the viewpoint that if there is unequal outcome, it can only arise from discrimination. It's a package deal, though not immediately apparent.

I acknowledge that there were those who from the beginning knew this was only political patronage, of the sort found in most other countries, planning from the start to make their living from the spoils. But the majority were not so cynical. They hoped to right an historical wrong. It did do some of that. But the cultural and moral cost was higher than projected.