Greenberg's View

Opinion

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HAMS RECOGNITION OF ISRAEL

Editorial

MIRIAM

The Dangers Of
Proposal 2

W

e can imagine the
time when govern-
ment-sanctioned
affirmative action won't be nec-
essary in Michigan. That time
is not yet at hand. Affirmative
action is still a vehicle to socio-
economic diversity, especially
in a struggling state, because it
helps equalize the right of oppor-
tunity, part of the American
bedrock.
Thus we cannot support
Proposal 2, which Michigan
voters will consider on Nov. 7.
Proposal 2 is popularly known
as the Michigan Civil Rights
Initiative. Despite what the name
implies, it's less about advancing
civil rights than ending prefer-
ences based on race and gender
in government hiring, public
contracts and public education.
Study after study reveal that
without the benefits of affirma-
tive action in Michigan, minori-
ties and women wouldn't fare
as well as they now do in the
three target areas of Proposal 2.
Women haven't attained earn-

ing equality in the Michigan
workplace; on average, they earn
two-thirds of every dollar that
men earn. Blacks, meanwhile, are
far behind whites in every sig-
nificant income-related category:
jobs, education, health care and
housing.
With passage of Proposal 2,
minority- and female-owned
businesses stand to lose the
benefit of affirmative-action out-
reach programs. These programs
identify and invite such business
owners to bid, increasing com-
petition and potentially lowering
prices.
Moreover, Proposal 2 could
threaten Michigan's gender-spe-
cific programs through court
challenges of publicly funded
health programs for minorities
and women, everything from
cancer screening to domestic
violence.
Social equality is a Jewish ideal
and a key reason why so many
Jewish organizations oppose the
proposed constitutional amend-
ment. Notably, both gubernato-

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RECOGNITION OF ISRAEL

rial candi-
dates oppose
the measure.
So do a legion
of business,
labor, reli-
gious, education and political
groups, united around diversity
in the workforce and on campus.
A state sorely in need of new
investment, and which welcomes
immigrants, would send the
wrong message by maintaining a
lopsided field of opportunity.
Obviously, some limits must
be set to level the field. Cries of
reverse discrimination overlook
that. In a state that's so heavily
white, diversity could never be
achieved without some govern-
ment controls that command
public oversight.
Affirmative action isn't about
quotas, which have been illegal
in Michigan since 1978. Still, they
exist and too often are winked
at instead of adjudicated away,
which we must guard against.
Affirmative action isn't about
selecting unqualified people.

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And it's not a form of charitable
reward.
It's also not a panacea. Access
to elite schools and jobs is
increasingly based on family
income rather than race or gen-
der. Affirmative action doesn't do
as much as you might think to
address this discrepancy.
We're strongly in favor of
keeping watch on changing
opportunity trends, however. The
time will come, in perhaps 15-20
years, when preferences no lon-
ger will be needed. Meanwhile,
we remain the most segregated
state in the nation.
Proposal 2 is about more than
race or gender. It is about the
future of our struggling state,
which has a mixed record, at
best, on race relations and inter-
group tension.
As a constitutional amend-

ment, Proposal 2 would be an
extreme measure that will end
the debate forever. The courts
have adjusted the administration
of affirmative action programs
when necessary.
The proposal also is an unnec-
essary lawsuit waiting to hap-
pen over its meaning, reach and
implementation. It would force
Michigan to backtrack in the
successes it has achieved in giv-
ing minorities and women a bet-
ter chance to enter careers where
they are under-represented
through education and entrepre-
neurship.
Vote "no" on Proposal 2.

or her birthday, and we
look on them as part of
our own family. When
they start getting mar-
ried, our hearts will
swell with happiness for
them.
But, I won't try to pre-
tend that for Sherry and
me those milestones
will not be mingled
with pain and thoughts
of might-have-beens.
It was eight years ago this week.
Sometimes, it seems like eight
days; other times, like 80 years.
Most of the time, there is still dis-
belief that it could have happened.
I know that it has made me an
angrier person, and I have to fight
to keep that in check. It also shat-
tered our belief in happy endings;
that for our family everything
would turn out all right. Disaster

now always seems to be just one
ring of the telephone away.
Even the glowing colors of
October come tinged with sad-
ness because they bring back such
terrible memories.
Last Tuesday, though, I was
invited to North Farmington High
to talk about my book Courtney's
Legacy. I've done a lot of that in
the last eight years, speaking to
high school students about not
succumbing to peer pressure as
college freshmen and holding on
to their values. If I have reached
just one of them in the last eight
years, I am content.
For me it is the best way of
honoring the memory of someone
who will always be next to my
heart.

E-mail letters of no more than 150

words to:

letters@thejewishnews.com .

Reality Check

The Book Of Love

T

he two little girls from
next door came over to
scan our book collection
the other day. Sherry saved every
children's book.we ever bought
and, now that we are grandpar-
ents, she has gone and fetched
them from their boxes.
Maddie picked one of them
out. "This is my favorite': she said.
"Did both of your daughters like
it, too?"
Sherry and I paused, but only
for an instant. The Wises moved
next door more than seven years
ago, about six months after
Courtney died. Their children had
not yet been born. But Maddie
knew that there once were two
little girls living in our house.
"They both loved that book,"
said Sherry. "Want to borrow it?"
The questions can come at
surprising times. I was being

interviewed on an Ann Arbor
radio station recently about my
new book on Michigan football
when the program's host suddenly
shifted gears and started asking
about Courtney.
It was a natural segue, I sup-
pose, since that was where the
accident occurred. Besides, I am
always happy to be given the
chance to talk about my daughter.
Still, in this context it was a bit
unsettling.
More memories came on
Yom Kippur. During the day, we
had a visit from one of her clos-
est friends, Bekah Parker. She
dropped by the house with her
young man to say hello on the
way back to Los Angeles where
she now practices law.
That evening we went to see
Annie Stela at the Magic Bag
Theatre, in Ferndale. She has

signed a recording
contract with Capitol
Records and was on
the road to promote
her CD. She is a stun-
ningly beautiful and
talented performer;
and her parents,
Carol and Seymour
Dubrinsky, were
beaming.
Annie wrote and
recorded a song
about hearing of Courtney's death
and we always will treasure that
performance above all her others,
even if she goes platinum.
It's astonishing to watch my
daughter's friends grow into
adults. Karen Estrine is a physi-
cian, Jen Raznick a teacher. Others
are back in graduate school.
They all make it a point to
contact us on Courtney's yahrtzeit

George Cantor's e-mail address is

gcantor614@aol.com.

October 19 2006

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