Maybe Barack Is Not Getting That We Aren't "Welcoming" More Diversity?

"HONOLULU - Hawaii-born presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama hailed the diversity of his native state, telling several thousand supporters the nation as a whole is hungry for it."

I see no evidence that America is in need of, of clamoring for, MORE diversity?

I mean, aren't we doing ok in terms of diversity?

Please let me know where we are lacking the world in that regard?

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Submitted by Red_Wing on Tue, 2008-08-12 04:04
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The people with the power

Are not terribly diverse, no.

Consider the following:

In the Senate, there are 16 women, the highest number in history. There are 13 Jews, three Hispanics (Mel Martinez, R-FL; Bob Menendez, D-NJ; Ken Salazar, D-CO) two Asian Americans (Daniel Akaka, D-HI; Daniel Inouye, D-HI), one Arab American (John Sununu, R-NH), and one African American (Barack Obama, D-IL). The average age of Senators in 2007 is 62 years.

For comparison women make up almst 51% of the population (the senate has just 16%), Jews are 1.7% (the senate has 13%), Hispanics are 15% (vs 3%), Asians are 4% (vs 2%). Blacks are 13% (vs. 1%).

Median age is 37, although that's skewed for Senators by the requirement that they be at least 25.

The 110th Congress includes the most religiously-diverse House in history, including the first Muslims (Keith Ellison and André Carson), the first Buddhists (Mazie Hirono and Hank Johnson), and 30 Jews. There are 42 African Americans (including two non-voting delegates) and 74 female representatives. There are also 27 Hispanics, three Asian Americans, and one Native American (Tom Cole, R-OK).

That's almost 10% blacks which is pretty close to the general population but still only 17% women.

Demographics of current US congress
Overall US demographics here

It's worth pointing out that in over two hundred years we've never had a president that isn't a white male (which may be about to change, but notice that once again a wealthy old white male is one of the two contenders).

The Supreme court isn't too bad given that with only nine slots to fill it will be very hard to finely approximate a population of 300 million. They could still use more women though (only one1 of nine right now).

However the disparity that really concerns me is not sex or race, both of which I think have gotten substantially better and I expect to continue to do so. Rather I worry about the disparity in terms of wealth. Our highest offices are pretty much universally occupied by people who are vastly wealthy. These by and large have no idea what it means to be poor, or at best have some vague recollection of being less than super rich as a kid. That's killing us in large part. That's why our government doesn't really represent the middle class much less the poor.

Why would it? A government made up exclusively of the wealthy is going to look after the wealthy first and foremost. And even when they do intend to govern well they lack that connection to the common people that might help them know what serves us best.

I came. I saw. I posted.
Veni, Vidi, Bitchy.

by: Tlaloc - 2008-08-12 10:26 …………

Kucinich is one

There are a very few congressmen who do know what it's like to be relatively poor. Dennis Kucinich regularly slept in his parents' car when he was growing up; they were homeless. His house is not a mansion by any stretch. He lives in a pretty quiet area of west Cleveland in a standard, middle-class abode.

There are a few others who live in poorer districts. I wouldn't be surprised to see a few broke congressmen from WV or KY.

I never broke the law; I am the law! -- George W. Bush Judge Dredd
I'm listening to...

by: stinerman - 2008-08-13 15:36 ………… parent •

Rockefeller and Byrd

Well, Sen. Byrd from WV seems like a real hillbilly. But WV also sent a Rockefeller to Washington.

Here in Western PA, it seems like local politicians don't tend to be all that wealthy...they seem to be from the well-paid blue-collar background that dominates this area.

However, I think there's a bit of inevitability that politicians will be wealthier than average--we typically elect people who have proven themselves somehow (the current mayor of Pittsburgh being a glaring exception), so it's likely that they would have earned a fair bit of money in their lives. There's also the fact that they have many ways to convert their political prominance/influence into cash.

"You have seen how a man was made a slave; you shall see how a slave was made a man." --Frederick Douglas

by: adam ricketson - 2008-08-14 09:46 ………… parent •

what a low standard...

Please let me know where we are lacking the world in that regard?

The rest of the world?

This is one of the things that distinguishes us from the rest of the world. It is one of the areas in which we lead. It's one of the reasons that we can lead as well as we do. America is not "just another nation" in the mold of European nations.

"You have seen how a man was made a slave; you shall see how a slave was made a man." --Frederick Douglas

by: adam ricketson - 2008-08-12 12:04 …………