Mea Culpa – Admitting When You’re Wrong

My last piece was way over the top and I had some things that were blatantly wrong. In the first place; the Male White Majority doesn’t really exist as I described. As my critics pointed out, the old dominant power structure has been instrumental in removing the obstacles to self-fulfillment. I have been caught up in the struggle for 50 years to remove social injustice in our society and have lost sight of what has been actually accomplished. But that doesn’t negate the fact that there is still more to do to finally remove all the societal obstacles that are still in place.

Our society, as well as the global society, is under tremendous pressures to make adaptations that will enhance everyone’s ability to handle what the future has to offer. This ranges from economics to education and social structures. In looking at the big picture, I failed to recognize what was happening on my own doorstep.

One of the first challenges that I have had to reevaluate is my position on women. I have long been an advocate, that women could “have it all.” In this, I have forgotten one critical variable; women’s biology. Our evolutionary development has accounted for the social organization required to accommodate the differences in the genders and the obvious roles that have developed. Even though women are as capable as men and are open to pursue whatever choices they desire, for many their own biology becomes self limiting. As a father of three daughters, I am fully aware of this thing they call a “biological clock” that ticks away reducing their fecundity. As focused as they are on their education and careers, the clock is always ticking in the background. At some point for women who are focused on achieving success, there comes a instance where they must make a tough choice. This is a choice that males don’t encounter in quite the same manner as women.

The “Gordian Knot” facing women can have only three choices; the “I can have it all choice,” the traditional choice of mother, or the choice of an interrupted career path. For many women they have no choice and they are thrust into the role of single parenthood whether that is what they desired or not. That is an issue for a separate discussion. However, biology will always be a permanent obstacle that women must deal with. Social policies can help ease the financial burdens to some extent for those who make the Motherhood Choice, but it can’t eliminate it. Therefore, I must admit that the position of “I can have it all” is pretty much mythical.

The next item that I have readdressed is that of underclass socialization. With the African American Minority, they have not been fully assimilated into mainstream American society. Many of the community have become part of the permanent underclass or the culture of poverty. The question centers around why other minorities have been able to advance themselves in spite of the obstacles set before them and African Americans are still facing the challenges of obstruction to advancement. Luke has been instrumental in my revisiting this question and I have to admit that we have been addressing the issue incorrectly. Changing the socialization of the community is the area to focus our efforts. We have removed many of the barriers to advancement, but we haven’t done a good job of teaching how to advance. This begins wirh early socialization through the education process and must be reinforced all through childhood into adulthood. No ethnic minority is expected to give up their cultural identity, but there is a proven path to assimilation and upward mobility. Now I am not so idealistic to think that this will occur overnight, but finally approaching the problem in the correct manner will eventually result in the full sovereignty of this significant minority.

The final issue that I readdressed was the progressive means of achievement. In our efforts to correct the social injustices of our society, we often have not done a good job in limiting change and understanding the consequences. What comes to mind is the issue of affordable housing and the pathway to home ownership. We all are aware that “red lining” had been going on for decades. It was a particular egregious covert means of maintaining racial segregation. The progressives pushed to curtail this practice through legislation, but didn’t see the downside of the opening up of the system. This allowed for the unscrupulous to take advantage of it. Based on the ideal of all Americans should participate in home ownership, regulations and policies were adopted as to allow for abuse. The result has been a collapse of the real estate market, fueling the Great Recession. In hindsight we now know that even a good thing must be properly regulated and adapted as time goes on. The statement made by conservatives that progressives led to the real estate bubble, is partially correct. Our sin was initiating change, but not monitoring it.

As issues come up and I am forced to reevaluate my positions, I will take the time to share. The ability to count critics input is an important means of seeking the truth and participating in the critical thought process. Once again — a thank you to my critics.