He Should Thank His Lucky Stars

I both agree and disagree with Paul Begala’s observations about the diversity of Joe Biden’s cabinet picks, expressed in this CNN op-ed. I agree with his conclusion:

An all-white, all-male Cabinet is, I hope, in the dustbin of history. I also hope that an all-liberal or all-conservative Cabinet is as well. America’s diversity is in many ways our country’s greatest challenge. With these picks, Joe Biden is reminding us it is also our greatest strength.

I suspect that he and I differ on the nature of the diversity for political appointees. Sadly, “diversity” seems to have become an autoantonym. I agree with him that opening the field of potential appointees to the full range of people with the knowledge and experience to handle the various jobs without reference to gender, religion, or race broadens the pool.

The one thing that leapt out at me from his op-ed and with which I am not sure I am in full agreement is the following statement:

Liberals who extol diversity make what I believe is an inarguable point when they note that we are products of our lived experience. As a white male I have never known the pain of prejudice.

If that’s true, Mr. Begala should thank his lucky stars that he has not. Despite being a white male, I have since my earliest years. Not only have I experienced bigotry against me due to my faith from a very early age, I have experienced bigotry throughout my career, first because I was too young and now, not only because I am too old, but because I am a white American.

In addition, yes, experience is a teacher but the wise man learns not merely from his own experience but from the experiences of others. I have seen bigotry against blacks, against Jews, and other forms of bigotry for as long as I can recall. I consider it a canard to believe that the only way one can understand pain is to experience it. You can understand it, too, through seeing others experience it. At least you can if you have any degree of empathy.

I found this grimly amusing:

I hope he extends that to people who come at politics and policy from a different perspective.

In the last election we learned that nearly half of American voters “come at politics and politics from a different perspective” from any of the appointees that Mr. Biden has named to date. Moving forward I don’t expect that to change.