We Need More, Not Less Discrimination©

"Never let yourselves be run by a word without looking at its several sides." 

--Richard L. Evans

It is worth considering another point of view about the highly loaded word discrimination. In today’s world discrimination has been politicized and narrowed in meaning to the point of making the word nearly useless.We are obsessed with discrimination as an act of prejudice or a prejudicial outlook, or treatment, where discrimination in a perverse sort of way is categorical–stereotypical–rather than individual.  In other words, the finer, and I do mean finer points of the word’s meaning are perverted from truly discriminating to true prejudice.

The word is not useless, however, and its broader meanings and applications should not be overlooked or abandoned. Wikipedia tells us the etymology of the word is from Latin into English and meant to “distinguish between;” coming from a verb meaning to make a distinction. Discrimination means “the act of making or perceiving a difference,” but it implies the ability to ultimately make fine and important distinctions. 

The ability to discriminate or make subtle distinctions is a very essential element of our own education. Early on we begin to do two things–generalize and discriminate. Things we play with are called toys–a generalization. However, a child without clear distinctions may consider a loaded pistol as a toy. So we must learn to discriminate between toy and not-toy. As every parent learns, that process of refining our ability to generalize and discriminate is endless during childhood and indeed it continues through life especially as the categories become more complicated and abstract.

Like so many other wonderful words in our English language, discriminate and discrimination have been co-opted as largely a negative–in this case they have become a political bludgeon. I would here argue for the reinstatement of the admirable meanings of this very useful and important word. Consider how essential it is to discriminate between the following, and the consequences when such distinctions are not made:

Truth and error

Strong and weak evidence

Good and bad
 Character and persona

Dangerous and beneficial

Fact and opinion
 Foolish and substantive

Right and wrong

Ends and means
 Valid and specious

Intention and action
 Important and unimportant

Freedom and anarchy

Maturity and immaturity

It seems that many of today’s American politicians, journalists, pundits, commentators, and bloggers are almost constitutionally incapable of  discriminating between such things as:

Islam as a religion and radical versions of Islam

The value of the life of a child before birth and after birth

Living under the rule of law and lawlessness

Legitimate disagreement and prejudice and bigotry

Wealth and success

Fame and/or status and knowledge and intelligence

Facts and “alternate facts”

What is legal and what is moral
 Possessing educational degrees and wisdom

Actions and policies and consequences

Slogans and solutions

Superficially presenting “both sides” and true neutrality, objectivity

Information and education

High emotion and winning an argument

Civility and weakness

Sexual preference and perversions 

Sexual license and sexual consequences

 Sanctuary cities and civil disobedience

 Personal preferences and correctness
 Majority rule and personal rights

In the face of the philosophical diverseness, fuzzy and simplistic thinking, hyper-emotionalism, political correctness, deep partisanship, materialism, relativism, secularism, and a dozen other “isms” which dominate the American polity today, as a society we need to be more discriminatory than ever.

Let’s think together again, soon.