Minority issues still survive, actually thrive, in this country – a land which is supposedly built upon the premise that all people are created equal. Yet, if you look at the demographics, there is still a wide income and opportunity differential between the various racial groups that comprise this great nation.

Many people are pushing for government action to help boost minority people up the economic chain as quickly as possible. Most of the proposed approaches, however, amount to reverse discrimination; a subversion of the rights of the majority by offering preferences in educational and employment opportunities to minorities.

No minority should expect to leapfrog Americans whose families have been living in this country, working, building the infrastructure and paying the taxes that financed it all for several generations. Nobody gave these people jobs because they were caucasian, they all earned them the hard way. Just like their parents and grandparents before them.

This is still the land of opportunity. A person from a poor background but with the wherewithal and the drive to obtain an education or pursue other opportunities can be successful. But, they need to do so on their own, without the expectation of special favors.

Americans who are members of cultural minorities should embrace the educational and employment opportunities available in this country that will enable them to obtain the higher-paying jobs or business opportunities in order to support themselves and their families as well as become contributing members of their communities. The Asians that have immigrated to this country have developed a respectable reputation for embracing the opportunities that exist here and proving the system works on a daily basis.

Jobs and contracts should go to the most qualified applicant, no matter their race, gender, age, creed or who you know. If the selection criteria should go beyond that, if anybody deserves the first shot at a new job or government contract, or help with hospitalization costs, or small business loans, or housing, etc. it should be the person whose family has been working and paying taxes in this country the longest, not the newly arrived member of a cultural minority.

The most important key to success in this world is an education. No individual, of any race, should be given special consideration for admission to colleges. That practice defeats the incentive to do well in high school and is both unfair and discouraging to qualified students that are denied access to college because of affirmative action policies. The practice also waters down the quality of the college education, just like the high schools of this country have been degraded by forcing good students to sit in classes with students whose poor performance holds back the class.

Admission to any school should be unbiased and based on academic ability. If any students were to have preference for college admissions it should be the children of the tax-paying parents who have been paying the bills for educational programs in this country for generations. At the very least, these students deserve the equal opportunities available to any student, not the reverse discrimination they receive under affirmative action programs.

The laws of this country already guarantee equal rights and opportunities. They merely need to be implemented. There is no need for special laws, affirmative action or programs aiding specific minorities. If you want a good job, get an education and qualify yourself, then work your way up the ladder. That's the way it's done. Hard work has always been an essential part of the process.

Many African American and Hispanic people, for example, actually defeat their cause by proclaiming themselves to be inferior. Instead of being proactive and working to improve themselves, they are asking for special favors. Pleading for special help actually degrades a minority community. Their leaders are not doing their people any favors by teaching them to plead for preferences. They are, in fact, misleading them.

Minority leaders should be showing their people how to take advantage of the system by getting an education in our public schools and developing the job skills and personal abilities that will enable them to get ahead. They should be pointing out examples of people who have done just that and risen above the perceived handicaps of their race. These are the people that should be the role models for the youngsters in their communities, not the TV personalities, sports and rap stars who currently hold those positions.

If a community wants to develop special programs to help its people get ahead they should shoulder that responsibility themselves and provide those opportunities for their people, not look to the government and taxpayers. They should raise their children to be good citizens and contributing members of the community. They should push them to do well in school and to aspire to college as the best way to get ahead.

There are plenty of people of all races that have done so in this country. Young, dedicated, minority professionals are busy developing careers and planning for their futures. You see them in all companies, all fields of endeavor and every management level in their organizations. These are people who have applied themselves, received an education, probably at higher levels, and developed a profession. It will take them some time, these things don't happen overnight. But they will eventually be successful and equality will be accomplished by their distribution throughout the workplace.

Any minority that segregates itself and seeks special favors is going to suffer in the mainstream of things. The key is to integrate into society by becoming an active participant. By becoming a person who not only earns a living and pays taxes, but helps in the community and contributes to society. This can be done by taking advantage of the many opportunities that this country offers.

Education is the key to equality. Instead of calling for educational preferences for minorities we all should be pushing hard to rebuild the education system of this country to the point at which a college education is available to every citizen, not just the ultra rich. This is not a dream; it was a reality in the 1950s, '60s and '70s. And it is the reality of most developed countries.

All American citizens should have equal rights and privileges. The right to an education. The right to strive for something better for themselves and their families. This is the basis of our Constitution. And the future of this country will depend on well-educated citizens.

Equal opportunity means just that. America still offers the common man unlimited possibilities for success if he is wise enough to make the effort and pursue those opportunities. The people holding good jobs in this country, and especially those who have risen through corporate ranks to hold high positions, have done so the hard way. They weren't given these jobs because they were a member of the majority, they worked hard and they earned them. That is the way it has always been. There are no shortcuts. That's the American way.