Affirmative-action concepts are damaging American society.

In a recent Imprimis publication from Hillsdale College, the Manhattan Institute’s Heather Mac Donald exposes the harmful results that ethnicity-obsessed, disparate-impact conceptions specifically have on Western civilization.

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Here are a few examples of how disparate-impact criteria creates unnecessary problems. Mac Donald writes: “If a cancer research lab, for example, does not have 13 percent black oncologists — the Black share of the national population — it is by definition a racist lab that discriminates against competitively qualified black oncologists; if an airline company doesn’t have thirteen-percent Black pilots, it is by definition a racist airline company that discriminates against competitively qualified black pilots; and if a prison population contains more than thirteen-percent black prisoners, our law enforcement system is racist.”

Thus, we see that little consideration is given to the reality that, for many reasons, there may not be an adequate pool of qualified black cancer researchers and airline pilots from which to hire the requisite number. Consider the reality that if only 13% of the population is black, it’s almost numerically impossible for every Department of Labor category to have enough qualified individuals from which 13% of every organization’s total staff can be drawn.

Mac Donald specifies the repercussions of these punitive cultural ideologies. Behavioral standards are now thrown away in favor of “reparations,” and objective measurements of academic and professional skill are replaced by “equity.” This doctrine of “disparate impact” applies especially to the realms of medicine and academia. “Consider Medicine,” she writes. “Step One of the medical licensing exam, taken during or after the second year of medical school, tests medical students’ knowledge of anatomy, physiology, and pathology.” It is a known fact that black students tend to score lower on these exams. In the minds of those who believe in disparate impact, this is not because of any evident skills gap, but because the test is simply racist. The solution? Lower all standards of admission.

“What is at stake in these changes?” Mac Donald asks. “Future medical progress and, ultimately, lives.” Laws should be in place to block dangerous practices like these, but according to Mac Donald, law and order is itself affected by this ideology — which is ironic, because the modern legal apparatus is also responsible for the inception of the disparate-impact concept.

The Church is called and should be equipped to lead by example when affording equal access and opportunity. This call is particularly true for believers with authority within the marketplace and industry. When we take up our mantles in this area from the inside out, we will see society transformed.

Is there any one thing you believe the Church can do to make a godly difference in this area? Please leave a comment.

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