Liberals and the "It's About Time" Attitude

Something occurred to me tonight as I watched the end of the Academy Awards broadcast. Barbra Streisand while announcing the "Best Director" award to a woman said: "It's about time!" I thought: It's about time that a woman won the award for Best Director because she was a woman? My question was only prompted by her need to qualify the woman's achievement or to frame it in a sexist construct. Otherwise, I frankly wouldn't have thought about it.

This "It's about time" mentality is the same mentality that was frequently cited by Liberals when Barack Obama was running for President for his election -- It's about time that an African-American was elected President of the United States -- as if that were a reason or argument. It's the same mentality that has been used by Liberals in politics and in the workforce and in education for a long time to justify an action that, perhaps, on its own merits may not stand up to scrutiny.

I am not suggesting that the selection of a woman as Best Director or that Barack Obama's election as President was based on their diversity rather than her or his qualifications. Quite to the contrary. Rather, I think it is sort of an insult to preface someone's achievements with the qualifier "It's about time" if it is said as "code" for "entitlement", rather than an acknowledgment of something that strictly from a historical perspective took a long time to happen. Sadly, the former is often how it is used principally.

While that phraseology may have been more appropriate when there was blatant racism or sexism in corporate America or education institutions or where there were prohibitions, carved into the law and custom, against the hiring or acceptance of blacks, women, Jews, Catholics, etc. because of that very status, it is quite another thing to continually lament even after the election of the first black to the presidency and the vast numbers of women and blacks and Asians, for example, in senior positions in corporations and in a wide array of industries, and as doctors and lawyers and other professions, that "It's about time."

"It's about time" signifies just the opposite of when someone, anyone, regardless of race, creed or religion, is qualified or has earned a distinction separate and apart for one's diversity identifier. It lessens the achievements of those whose identifier is completely irrelevant to their success, baggage which suggests that "but for that identifier" the person wouldn't be where he is today.

It is not surprising that Streisand would make such a comment. She is a classic limousine liberal who almost expects the audience to cheer when she ignorantly uses the expression "It's about time" almost as a compliment. It is no such thing. It is, in fact, the perpetuation of a stereotype that over the years has continually abated, in law and costom and general human interaction, and will continue to abate. It is a non-issue for the majority of Americans lest 53% of them would not have voted for Barack Obama.

There is also a danger of making any argument when one's perspective is in a significant way guided by the "It's about time" mentality. Such an individual is looking to use diversity as a qualifying characteristic.

Should a woman or a black or a black women or a Muslim or whomever (who is not a while male) get a job, award or special consideration because of that fact alone? In the world of Liberal politics and policies the answer still appears to be "yes" for the Steisands of the world. These types of people are truly dangerous once "merit" becomes less important or no more important than all other color-blind characteristics of a person.