This is an issue that simmers and sometimes rages within society and many of us shy away from confronting it because it is so politically charged. Many a politician’s career has been ruined from an ill-timed and ill-considered comment on the issue. It all lies in the great immaturity of mankind and our inability still to recognise that we all came from the same home – the spiritual realm. Our inability still to properly acknowledge each other and voluntarily give that respect which is the due of every single human being.

Unfortunately it appears as if this issue will continue to rear its ugly head and cause considerable unease because nobody yet knows how to deal with it. The fundamental idea that all that matters is the material and that the earth is not big enough for all of us will continue to foster discord and hatred among the various groups of mankind until spiritual understanding sets in. Until then great suffering and conflict is to be expected.

Wherever there is a minority population in a particular country, there have always been conflict and unease, disagreements and perceived imbalances and so on and these disputes have often been addressed by introducing affirmative action or similar such programs. These programs have often led to a rapid improvement in the social condition of the targeted groups who otherwise would have had to remain disadvantaged.

Opponents of affirmative action point to the fact that some of the beneficiaries are not really qualified and that merit alone should be the only means by which people are appointed to particular positions. While this argument is valid, the question then is: can mankind today really be trusted to use merit alone to judge people? It is well known that people are generally more comfortable with those who look like them and would tend to appoint those first, irrespective of whether they are qualified or not.

It is also well known that on earth today it is not what you know but who you know that matters. This saying is so true that it is actually taken for granted. Mankind is used to judging things only from the outside. Very few of us have the ability to see deeper than the other person’s external appearance. We are only able to judge by externals whether this be in terms of skin colour, clothing and the like.

It is true that affirmative action programs have sometimes been abused but then what has not been abused by mankind. There will always be abuses as long as we still live the way we do; lacking the basic understanding of the Laws of Nature.

Merit alone would be the ideal but mankind as we are today are not in a position to really understand what this really means and as such it is almost entirely non-existent. Until we learn to judge objectively in everything and as such apply the same measure of open mindedness towards everything and everyone then affirmative action maybe the best tool that we have to restore some balance and decency to the human condition.