Greater equality needed

I'm often told that I offer too many critiques and too few solutions. So this week, instead of giving everyone the standard "I hate kids that wear Abercrombie and platinum blonde girls" routine, I thought I'd take a look at what I view to be a very serious and viable solution to the equality of opportunity. One need only look at our society to see that equality of opportunity does not exist across ethnic and religious backgrounds. Justice for an African American is not the same as justice for a Caucasian.

Yet, affirmative action raises many serious moral questions. For instance, when does race-based policy make sense? If we give someone a greater opportunity simply for being African American, then what about a white man that grew up in the same run-down neighborhood with the same poor public schools? Or if we're going to give special treatments to some minorities, should we handicap Asian Americans for making more money than Caucasians?

Affirmative action, however, does not get to the root of the problem. Instead, it puts a fresh coat of paint on a crumbling foundation. We must focus on giving more opportunities from the ground up. If we take away the lucrative career path of crime and drug dealing, what choice will someone have but to attempt to get their education?

In fact, I am advocating the complete decriminalization, legalization and regulation of all controlled substances. The war on drugs has been a spectacular failure on all fronts and the cost exceeds any benefit we may obtain. Perhaps instead of costing us money, drug abuse, which at its heart is a health issue and not a criminal one, could be a boon for our economy.

The legalization and regulation of drugs not only lets us tax these substances and bring in increased revenue, but it helps remove non-violent criminals from prison and reintegrate them back into the population. Furthermore, no longer will we allow dirty needles to spread disease- we will help drug addicts deal with their problems instead of throwing them away as useless members of society.

What individual or gang could ever hope to compete with a corporation like Philip Morris? The legalization of drugs helps build the economy, while simultaneously defeating gang-related violence and racqueteering. Instead of stigmatizing and locking up drug users, we can put our money toward proper treatment and rehabilitation.

However, what good is destroying the gang-related violence and black market if we cannot provide opportunities for not only minorities, but anyone growing up in a poor environment?

As it stands now, public education is a capitalist enterprise. Towns take in their own tax revenue and allot their own amount of money for schools. Poor neighborhoods continue to dwell while rich neighborhoods contain schools that would exceed the standards of most private schools. Have we not already given the rich and powerful enough? Do we not afford them a greater sense of justice than a middle class citizen? Are they not treated better by our government, our police and our peers? Furthermore, the cycle of public education continues because anyone living in a poor neighborhood that eventually comes into money decides to leave that community. It would be foolish to expect someone in that situation to attempt to revitalize the schools in their communities single-handedly. So they leave for greener pastures and the cycle continues.

Public education should afford everyone an equal opportunity regardless of ethnic, religious or economic background. Why should a child living in Greenwich be given a top notch public education when their parents could easily afford to send them to private school? Why should a Hartford resident be forced to stay in their run-down public schools when they know it will never amount to anything?

A comprehensive look at the socialization of public education is necessary. Instead of allowing rich towns to keep their money, all tax should go back to the state and the money should be redistributed according to population. Every child gets their own piece of the cake.

Each town would, of course, be allowed to do with the money what they will, but no longer will rich, elite towns have their own brand of public education while poor towns that need that money much more badly go without.

Some may wonder how the legalization of drugs and the socialization of public education can relate to opportunities for all. The answer is simple: when people have no opportunity to enter the lucrative and dangerous world of crime, then their only other hope is to make something of themselves the way we have always believed is the "right way."

No longer will shady characters in back alleys sell contaminated drugs. Instead, people will be forced to get their degrees in pharmacy or business administration in order to get into the drug business. No longer will innocent bystanders be killed for being in the wrong neighborhood, for nobody gets killed for something that can be found at the pharmacy.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not advocating the use of drugs or saying that drugs are a good part of our society. But considering our complete failure to stop the flow of drugs into this country, it would be foolish to throw manpower and money at an unsolvable problem.

At least with regulation, we can destroy the gang culture and force people to look for honest opportunities. Right now, every arrested drug dealer is just another job opening. With legalization, drug dealers would be obsolete and unable to compete with true corporations that provide safe, regulated drugs.

The Constitution speaks eloquently about life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Until we make sure that everyone in this country has an equal opportunity to succeed and make themselves, we have dishonored that dream.

The old solutions do not work. Affirmative action only furthers the feelings of helplessness for minorities while never dealing with the cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds of the individual.

We must find a new way of dealing with an old problem.