In Ferguson, Missouri, the police force had 50 Caucasian police officers and only 3 African American Police Officers in a predominantly African American community. Many allege that this is one of the dynamics that led to the death of an unarmed young African American Michael Brown. Whether or not this is the case, it highlights a problem in many communities across America in their government's civil service workforces.
Principles:
1. Government is only as good as its service to the governed.
2. Governmental services should be disseminated impartially.
3. Majorities have a tendency, both subconsciously and consciously, to harbor biases against those they see as “others” or not “them.”
4. To avert the despotism of the majority, encourage creativity and innovation, and to foster freedom, a democracy must provide a safe harbor for diversity to thrive.
5. Due to the cultural, educational, economic, experiential, religious, and historical differences of various racial groups within a democracy–such groups are often better served by a civil service workforce that has the same or similar racial and cultural backgrounds.
6. To achieve the impartial and effective dissemination of governmental services, democratic communities should accommodate the racial, sexual, and cultural differences of its members by hiring a civil service workforce (police officers, fire fighters, public defenders, prosecutors, bureaucrats, teachers, etc.) that reflects the community’s diverse demographics. Hence, according to their proportional representation in our society, qualified applicants should be found to fill government civil service jobs.
7. All races of homo sapiens and both sexes have individuals who are capable of serving competently and reliably in all civil service workforce positions.
8. If qualified applicants that reflect a community’s diverse demographics cannot be found, it is not a failure of the particular race, sex or cultural group, it is the failure of our institutions to equip, train, and locate individuals representing all of our communities’ diversity with this capacity.
9. A diverse civil service workforce, not only is perceived to disseminate governmental services impartially, because of its collective pool of knowledge regarding the cultural, educational, economic, experiential, sexual, religious, and historical backgrounds of its community members, it is often more adept at disseminating governmental services both impartially and often more effectively.
10. Our democracy and market systems have engendered a vibrant economy with boundless opportunity. Therefore those who may otherwise qualify for a civil service job but who, due to affirmative action policies, may not have this opportunity, will nevertheless be able to find or create employment of equal, if not greater, economic merit in the private sector.
Conclusion:
Democracies should have aggressive affirmative action policies for its civil service workforces and in its educational institutions.
While this may not have averted the turmoil in Ferguson, Missouri, nor the death of Michael Brown, it may have. And while the lack of diversity in its police force should not be an excuse for violent behavior that is not justified by the known facts, nor by the rule of law that is the foundation of our democracy, it will avert many such other potential incidents all over our nation.
This is why in non-elected government civil-service positions and in educational institutions, I support aggressive affirmative actions plans.
Loren M. Lambert
© August 19, 2014
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Comments...
Jacob Dean- I dissent. Affirmative Action is smiley face racism. August 19, 2014 at 11:37pm
Jacob Dean- Also, while still waiting for the whole picture, it looks more and more like the thing that would have prevented the events of Fergusen would have been for Mr Brown to not attack a police officer with enough force and violence to, as reports today say, blow out his orbital eye socket. Still waiting on verification and the whole picture on this but looking at events like this and seeing race issues is why the real, institutional race problem in this country is intellectually housed in the left. August 20, 2014 at 7:54am
Loren M. Lambert- Perhaps. I completely oppose the mentality that cop + death of member of public = police brutality and the mobocracy that wants "justice now" whether its lynching a cop or a minority. Let the investigation move forward. On the other hand I think as a general rule sometimes cops are too hasty to act with aggression, when stepping back and diffusing the situation is the better act of valor. August 20, 2014 at 8:30am
Principles:
1. Government is only as good as its service to the governed.
2. Governmental services should be disseminated impartially.
3. Majorities have a tendency, both subconsciously and consciously, to harbor biases against those they see as “others” or not “them.”
4. To avert the despotism of the majority, encourage creativity and innovation, and to foster freedom, a democracy must provide a safe harbor for diversity to thrive.
5. Due to the cultural, educational, economic, experiential, religious, and historical differences of various racial groups within a democracy–such groups are often better served by a civil service workforce that has the same or similar racial and cultural backgrounds.
6. To achieve the impartial and effective dissemination of governmental services, democratic communities should accommodate the racial, sexual, and cultural differences of its members by hiring a civil service workforce (police officers, fire fighters, public defenders, prosecutors, bureaucrats, teachers, etc.) that reflects the community’s diverse demographics. Hence, according to their proportional representation in our society, qualified applicants should be found to fill government civil service jobs.
7. All races of homo sapiens and both sexes have individuals who are capable of serving competently and reliably in all civil service workforce positions.
8. If qualified applicants that reflect a community’s diverse demographics cannot be found, it is not a failure of the particular race, sex or cultural group, it is the failure of our institutions to equip, train, and locate individuals representing all of our communities’ diversity with this capacity.
9. A diverse civil service workforce, not only is perceived to disseminate governmental services impartially, because of its collective pool of knowledge regarding the cultural, educational, economic, experiential, sexual, religious, and historical backgrounds of its community members, it is often more adept at disseminating governmental services both impartially and often more effectively.
10. Our democracy and market systems have engendered a vibrant economy with boundless opportunity. Therefore those who may otherwise qualify for a civil service job but who, due to affirmative action policies, may not have this opportunity, will nevertheless be able to find or create employment of equal, if not greater, economic merit in the private sector.
Conclusion:
Democracies should have aggressive affirmative action policies for its civil service workforces and in its educational institutions.
While this may not have averted the turmoil in Ferguson, Missouri, nor the death of Michael Brown, it may have. And while the lack of diversity in its police force should not be an excuse for violent behavior that is not justified by the known facts, nor by the rule of law that is the foundation of our democracy, it will avert many such other potential incidents all over our nation.
This is why in non-elected government civil-service positions and in educational institutions, I support aggressive affirmative actions plans.
Loren M. Lambert
© August 19, 2014
Comments...
Jacob Dean- I dissent. Affirmative Action is smiley face racism. August 19, 2014 at 11:37pm
Jacob Dean- Also, while still waiting for the whole picture, it looks more and more like the thing that would have prevented the events of Fergusen would have been for Mr Brown to not attack a police officer with enough force and violence to, as reports today say, blow out his orbital eye socket. Still waiting on verification and the whole picture on this but looking at events like this and seeing race issues is why the real, institutional race problem in this country is intellectually housed in the left. August 20, 2014 at 7:54am
Loren M. Lambert- Perhaps. I completely oppose the mentality that cop + death of member of public = police brutality and the mobocracy that wants "justice now" whether its lynching a cop or a minority. Let the investigation move forward. On the other hand I think as a general rule sometimes cops are too hasty to act with aggression, when stepping back and diffusing the situation is the better act of valor. August 20, 2014 at 8:30am
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