No Independence Day should be celebrated without revisiting the sacred words that grace it. declaration of independence And symbolize the American Dream.

And at this point, it’s fair to ask whether that grandiose statement is consistent with or contradicts the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling banning race-sensitive affirmative action in college admissions. .

The sentence most of us studied in school:

“We believe that all human beings are created equal, and that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, among which are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. I take for granted the truth of

The Founding Founders endorsed a revolutionary secession from Great Britain in this solemn declaration. “We pledge to each other our lives, our property, and our sacred honor.”

It carried no legal weight and was a lofty declaration of principle that bore little resemblance to real life, even to many of its signatories. For the majority of them, including principal drafters Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin, their property included slaves, who were treated as opposed to equal.

Slavery continued legally in America for another 89 years. It took the Civil War, the deaths of an estimated 620,000 soldiers, and perhaps America’s greatest president, Abraham Lincoln, to abolish slavery.

The Declaration of Independence declared that all men were born equal, but was silent about women. They were unable to vote for the next 143 years.

All humans were created equal, except for slaves, Native Americans, and other people of color. In the name of progress and apparent destiny, Native Americans were slaughtered.

In California, Chinese immigration was prohibited by “exclusion” laws until the 20th century. The Alien Land Act of 1913 prohibited Japanese immigrants from owning real estate.

Housing discrimination based on race, ethnicity, religion, etc. was legal and common in California until the mid-1960s. Heroic Governor Pat Brown, a nervous Democrat-led Congress, and eventually the California Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court outlawed discrimination in home sales and rentals.

On July 4, 1776, all Americans were clearly not born equal. And today they still haven’t. But we’ve taken steps our founders never imagined and have made good progress towards leveling the playing field for life.

Back to the historic affirmative action ruling the Conservative Court handed down last week. The court, by a vote of 6 to 3, overruled the university’s policy of using race as a factor in deciding which students to admit.

Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. argued that many universities put too much emphasis on race.

“They erroneously concluded that the touchstone of an individual’s identity was not the challenges overcome, the skills developed, or the lessons learned, but rather the color of their skin,” Roberts said on behalf of the majority. wrote. “Our constitutional history does not allow that choice.”

He also wrote, “Never use an individual’s race against the admissions process.”

My layman’s interpretation is that white and Asian American applicants, for example, should not be denied admission solely for the purpose of making space for black or Latino students.

For the minority opinion, Justice Sonia Sotomayor said, “The majority’s vision of racial neutrality will perpetuate racism in higher education, because so long as racial inequalities are ignored, racial inequality persists,” he wrote.

Advocates of affirmative action argue that admission to a prestigious university provides a valuable stepping stone for graduates to pursue successful careers and helps alleviate generations of systemic racism. .

Mind you, I have always believed that we should not fight discrimination.

But it’s uncomfortable to stand on the side of this far-right court formed by the most obnoxious president of all time, Donald Trump.

Given our political polarization, I suspect that if next year’s California ballot includes affirmative action, it will likely be approved. Voters will probably think, “If Trump is against affirmative action, it must be good policy.”

It is paradoxical that this blue state twice voted against affirmative action in public education, contracts and employment based on race, ethnicity and gender.

The first time was in 1996. The campaign was particularly bad. Affirmative Action supporters ran television ads equating the opposition with Ku Klux Klansmen in white robes and hoods. It backfired. Californians voted to ban affirmative action by nine percentage points.

Inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, Congress included measures to revive affirmative action on the 2020 ballot. They lost overwhelmingly by a difference of 14 points.

So when Gov. Gavin Newsom lashed out at the court’s ruling last week, it sounded awkward. Because, after all, judges were voting essentially the same way Californians did just three years ago.

“Right-wing activists, including those in robes, are trying to bring us back to the days of book bans and campus segregation,” Newsom declared.

“While the path to equality of opportunity is narrowing for millions of students…[California] The doors of our campus are open to all who want to work hard, and our commitment to diversity, equity and equal opportunity has never been stronger. ”

But when it comes to affirmative action, California voters back Florida — the state where Newsom slams its conservative policies.

California has always prided itself on being a national leader on groundbreaking issues. And whether Newsome likes it or not, it is clearly based on affirmative action.

In fact, other states could learn a lot from California about how to diversify their universities without affirmative action based on race.

As The Times education writers Teresa Watanabe and Debbie Chuong reported, the UC campus is making notable progress. Black and Latino students made up 43% of the first-year class of Californians admitted in the fall of 2022, compared with just about 20 before affirmative action was banned a quarter-century ago. %Met.

We still wonder how far one person in pursuit of happiness can push others away. It’s a question sure to spark political fireworks.