Originally posted by kswier In my mind, the best form of 'affirmative action' is improving school systems in low income neighbourhoods.
I couldn't agree more.
Originally posted by ihasa That said, in a USA which is becoming more and more enraptured with Social Darwinism, I think affirmative action is probably the best thing that you're going to get.
I don't think that's quite the situation. We have a faction on the far right that has become more organized, complete with its own propaganda er' "news" channel which, along with far right prophets like Limbaugh and Beck, convince people it is a good thing to dismantle government, pay no taxes, hate opponents, and turn our country into an every-man-for-himself state (which is why we all need to carry guns). Add to that our steep decline in educational quality over the last forty years, and it's left us with a large population of politically (and generally) ignorant voters who quite eagerly listen to spin and treat it as the truth. That's why you can inadvertently mention Obama while talking to your normally kind, helpful, openminded neighbor or father-in-law, and next thing you know he's gone into the most hateful, mouth-frothing rant you've ever encountered (with every single statement in the rant based on false information).
So yes we have a particularly nasty and now more-organized faction, but I'd estimate it is about a third of the country. Another third of us are solidly behind progressive politics, and another third is independents, some of whom are willing to accept far right extremist stuff in one of the political parties if they think some greater benefit (like more jobs) might derive from electing a party's leader.
The "enrapturing" you mention may or may not be on the rise, I can't tell for sure. Sometimes people will dabble with a philosophy, while others (like Independents) tolerate its extremes to see if it has merit. Two developments might change things for the better. One is if more idiocy, incompetency and failures from the far right clearly show how daft their philosophy is (I don't believe a great many people see just how much of the mess we are in now is due to far right philosophy); and the other possibility for hope is, if Obama can get reelected, get a bipartisan congress (by ousting some of the extremists), and be more successful with Progressive ideas (since nothing convinces like success). And then if we can elect Hillary in 2016, soon we'll be nearly as cool as Canada!