The Return Of The ‘Invisible Man’

At least three of the Republicans running for president - and maybe all two or three dozen of them - want to do away with, or at least limit, affirmative action.

I guess that means that from now on the GOP will want to be known as the party of “negative inaction.” I can almost see the convention signs waving in San Diego now.

Bob Dole has taken the lead (or is that leading the retreat?) in wanting to bury affirmative action, though just a few years ago he was praising it before presidents of his own party, asking that the policies remain in force.

Dole says he has since seen the light, but my guess is he has since seen the polls of likely Republican voters. Facing all those other candidates, Dole cannot afford to look like a liberal in the bunch.

In filing his Senate bill last week, Dole made a speech that sounded downright politically correct. He said doing away with affirmative action would help move the United States toward a “color-blind” society.

But there is only a small difference between “color-blind” and “blind.” I wonder which one Dole and the Republicans really want.

Because we have had a blind society before, and not so very long ago, either. Ralph Ellison wrote about it in “Invisible Man.”

It is the story about one black man’s struggle for identity in America of the 1930s, but it speaks about millions of black men and women caught in an entire generation. Ignore a man, his needs, his dreams, his identity and you make him invisible. What you don’t want to see isn’t really there, is it?

But even the idea of a “color-blind” society - though that phrase probably originated from the High Council of Liberals - doesn’t seem to be such a good idea to me.

Being black or brown is part of a person’s identity. There is no reason to pretend that black skin does not exist, no more than we should deny the differences between cultures.

It isn’t wrong to point out those differences - it is best to celebrate them.

Ignoring a person’s color or ethnicity is the same as ignoring them, or an important part of them.

Of course, those leading us toward a color-blind society will have a much easier task if most of those within their field of vision are the same color.

That could be the real consequence of the death of affirmative action.

While many companies in the private sector will never turn their backs on the gains made, there is a very real chance that it will happen in some industries and in some parts of this country.

With affirmative action, bright people were given a foothold to gain jobs and contracts. Without it some will still manage to succeed and some, without a doubt, will join Ellison’s invisible men.

color blindness is an affliction and it limits one’s ability to see. Let’s just hope this nation doesn’t put on those blinders voluntarily.

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