You're conspicuously ignoring the initial point I made in my post, that being a URM is valued more highly than being an "exceptional talent" at a number of elite Universities. And at those where it's not the most important factor, it's very likely one of the most important factors.
Test scores are just used as a proxy for overall application quality. If you are a URM, it's much easier to get into elite colleges.
Among elite Universities that initially do a holistic review of applicants to narrow down the applicant pool, URM status is viewed as the most important factor for an applicant by 42% of the universities, equal to the number of schools that view "exceptional talent" as the most important factor. Being a URM is basically equivalent to being an "exceptionally talented" non-URM in the eyes of many elite colleges' admissions boards.
Look up average SAT scores of different ethnic groups admitted to elite colleges as well. The disparity is glaring.
Now, we can argue that giving URM's a leg up in admissions is justified. I'm willing to have that discussion. But let's be realistic about the facts here.
There are many ways to judge someone aside from "race", whatever race really means anyway. Race should have nothing to do with it. It shouldn't be part of the equation.
That's the point. We don't have to restrict ourselves to test scores and GPA.
>"[Harvard] lashed out at the founder of Students for Fair Admissions, Edward Blum, accusing him of using Harvard in an effort to orchestrate a challenge to race-conscious admissions that would go to the Supreme Court."
I feel that in 100 years we will look back on quotes like this and shake our heads at institutions like Harvard actually defending "race conscious admissions".
Reward people that do well and hold them up as examples for other people to follow.
This is similar to what I've noticed in my own experience of emotional highs and lows.
Sometimes I feel myself enter into a period of excitement and activity that lasts for a few days. During this time I feel very positive and capable. I get inspired easily and can think quickly. If I let myself get carried away with these moods the feeling increases until I suddently and inevitably reverse and enter a "down" state where I feel the opposite of how I felt in the "up" state.
But if I focus on controlling myself and maintaining an even emotional keel, I find that I can avoid entering the "down" state. The unfortunate part is that "controlling" myself really means not taking advantage of the "up" state and the powers it gives me. It's almost impossible to not get carried away without actively resisting, which is detrimental to my abilities.
Except given the data they provide, boys in middle class families also seem to be doing better than girls.
Boys in general like math more than girls. Math is a competitive exercise and women are in general less competitive than men. It's you vs the formula, at least at the level of grade school math. There's less room for error than a subject like Literature which is more open to interpretation, where assignments often can't be "wrong", at least in an obvious way.
I believe that striving for equality in math outcomes, especially at high levels, ignores the way many women think.
Many Asians came here with nothing, like many American immigrants before them, and through hard work and a culture centered around education and achievement have become one of the most successful groups of Americans.
They have worked hard for their success and should not be discriminated against because of they are doing things the right way. We should celebrate their success and hold it up as an example for everyone.
The delusion of identity politics is a poison to a free, democratic society and must be rejected. We cannot place American citizens in categorical boxes, racial or otherwise.
>"Adams took sudden and unexpected action, rejecting the anti-French hawks in his own party and offering peace to France."
Adams considered the peace he established with France as the greatest accomplishment of his Presidency, to the point of wanting his actions in averting an all out war commemorated on his gravestone.
I've experienced similar feelings, especially when faced with work that requires, as you say, "tediously assembling all of the glue".
Coding is most fun when you're working on solving a problem. Tedium is not problem solving, so it's hard to get excited about it in the same way that one may be excited by tackling an unsolved problem or undesigned architecture.
I would say, draw up all of the steps of your process, from most abstract to most detailed, and try to turn the work into a process more similar to putting together a set of Legos according to very specific instructions rather than going through a large but trivial mass of work.
While I believe border security is very important, a physical wall from the Pacific to the Gulf of Mexico seems unnecessary given the advanced surveillance we have at our disposal and could deploy.
If your real goal is "unity and equality", then everyone should learn one language. Then, because different languages often foster different cultures, we will eliminate significant differences in culture which are so often the source of human conflict.
One of the greatest gifts any superpower bequeaths to the world is a de facto universal language, such as Latin in Roman times. America being so dominant economically and culturally has given English to the world, which has reached a level of popular ubiquity unlike the world has ever known.
It's funny how cynics scoff when Americans take pride in being "free", as if the rest of the world has caught up to the US or even passed it in measures of freedom.
What recent experience tells us though is that, as is so often the case, the cynics are wrong and America really does benefit from having freedom of expression both written into the fundamental document of the nation - the Constitution - and ingrained in broader American culture.
Recent European attempts to crack down on internet content are very disturbing and would never be tolerated in America. These attempts must be rebuffed.
Again an example of how agendas are pushed using the selective publication of truth.
Of course massive amounts of propaganda is spread by the Palestinians but BuzzFeed would never call them out on it. In this way, they can report the truth while still pushing an agenda.
But why is it a problem? Why should we impose quotas? People are people, all distinctions just exist to divide us. If you're hiring based on qualifications and ability to do the job, you should not feel bad.
There was a time when there were no people of Italian descent in positions of success in America. How is it that largely impoverished Italian migrants where able to achieve parity in American society on a level with other groups?
What about people of Asian descent? How have they been able to succeed when at one point in American history they were scorned and shunned?
Many once marginalized groups do exceedingly well in American society today.
Quality public and private education is available to black students, but one major problem is that inner-city schools tend to have very high dropout rates which is not the fault of the schools but rather the broader culture of the communities.
The American people are not to blame for the pipeline problem. Instead, blame broken families. Blame a culture which does not offer to young black children professional role models.
Blaming racism for all of our problems is a dead end.
For more reading about this, consider the brilliant Coleman Hughes:
Test scores are just used as a proxy for overall application quality. If you are a URM, it's much easier to get into elite colleges.