However, there is a serious disagreement between those who wish to rectify past discrimination with such policies as affirmative action and those who oppose them. Affirmative action is seen by many to be the only way to lighten the load of racial prejudice experienced by members of minority groups.
Others see it as a new version of racism doomed to fail the very groups it was designed to help by reinforcing racial stereotypes and animosity. California political activists find it ironic that affirmative action has actually hurt a minority group--Asian American college students.
Speaking of which, Asian, Hispanic, and Native American commentators forcefully remind us that America has never been merely a "bi-racial" society. The problems of race have never been limited to "black" and "white." They too have suffered from discrimination over the years.
We must also face the challenge of conflict between minority races. For example, the Los Angeles riots pitted Korean American shopkeepers against black residents in south-central L.A.
Other commentators point out that more and more Americans of different races are marrying one another. Their children no longer feel comfortable in choosing to identify with one race. Instead, they prefer to call themselves bi-racial or multi-racial Americans. As a result, the reconfiguration of racial catagories in the 2000 census has becom a serious bone of contention between racial activists.
Many students of the history of immigration to America note that generations of new Americans were able to assimilate into the majority culture in many ways, most notably through entertainment and sports. The thinking here is that individual achievement and excellence is relatively easy to measure by ordinary people in those fields of endeavor. You either make the audience laugh or cry, or you don't. You either hit the game-winning home run or catch the game-ending fly ball, or you don't. Fans love a winner, no matter the accent or skin color. Sports and entertainment fans see that these immigrants are as skilled and capable as anyone else on stage or in the arena. As such, entertainment and sports may serve as corrosives--eating away at what were once hardened blocks of ancient prejudice in America.
Does this mean that black culture (admittedly a very diverse phenomenon) is finally getting its turn at bat--literally and figuratively? Or has it been permanently damaged by centuries of slavery and racial oppression? Can such damage be healed through celebration of individual achievement?
Are the differences in group percentages between minorities and the majority who have attained the highest goals on campus and in the workplace finally beginning to narrow? And finally, what would a society, truly free of prejudice, really look like?
Racism relies on ancient fears and superstitions to maintain its emotional stranglehold over the human imagination. I believe that a real effort to foster belief in American individualism is our country's best hope for racial reconciliation. Individualism firmly rejects group stereotypes, instead affirming the importance of INDIVIDUAL differences in talent, skill, energy, and determined effort. It holds out the hope that we may learn to dampen our innate tendencies to immediately classify people on first impressions--instantly catagorizing people by how much they do or don't look like ourselves. Kin selection is endemic among animals. To a degree, even highly civilized humans share that biological, instinctive comfort with similarity and fear of difference.
Instead of giving in to instincts, perhaps we'll be able to learn to wait for a truer picture of the other person we've just met, a picture which can only emerge after repeated interactions.
But we may never be able to fully overcome these tendencies. If so, we must face the fact that we may never be able to fully overcome racism. However, each of us can work on overcoming our own shortcomings by focusing on the other person as a true individual with all the messy, creative humanity in that person that genuine individuality implies. We can use political and moral suasion to attempt to move others toward this individualistic stance, striving for what all of us seek: a free society in which everyone may participate to the best of their abilities and content of their characters, and none may be hindered or scorned.