The audacity of humanism

“As a result, proposals that solely benefit minorities and dissect Americans into “us” and “them” may generate a few short-term concessions when the costs to whites aren’t too high, but they can’t serve as the basis for the kinds of sustained, broad-based political coalitions need to transform America. On the other hand, universal appeals around strategies that help all Americans (schools that teach, jobs that pay, health care for everyone who needs it, a government that helps out after a flood), along with measures that ensure our laws apply equally to everyone (like better enforcement of existing civil rights laws), can serve as the basis for such coalitions – even if such strategies disproportionately help minorities.” — Barack Obama, The Audacity of Hope