Nicholas Goldberg: The affirmative action calamity brewing at the Supreme Court
No one particularly likes affirmative action. Why would we? It is an imperfect remedy designed to redress a shameful history — an ongoing history — of racism and exclusion. It requires that people be judged, and in some cases denied opportunity, based on the color of their skin.
It's built on the premise that society cannot always be colorblind, which goes against everything we have been taught to believe and would like to believe about ourselves.
That's one reason so many people prefer to view affirmative action as merely a temporary fix that will one day no longer be: "Affirmative action should not go on forever… It should be retired when its job is done."
