Discrimination is a Virtue

In "Discrimination is a Virtue", author Robert Keith Miller talks about how society has misused the word "discriminate" and how as time goes by that society has related the word with racism. Miller provides us with the dictionary definition of "discrimination" meaning "the ability to tell differences". He also provides many examples of how we discriminate such as the ways we choose which kind of foods to eat, and that discrimination doesn't always have to do with racism and prejudice. Another very effective example that relates to the presidential election is the example that Miller provides about King Lear and his daughters. King Lear tests each daughters' love for him, asking them "How much do you love me?" and listening to each of their responses. Because King Lear did not diffrentiate what was true love and what was false from his daughters' responses, he had "lost his kingdom and eventually his life". Therefore, when we listen to each presidential candidate and the issues they are presenting on their platforms, we need to diffrentiate between what each candidate is saying, not to just vote for a candidate because they are saying something that we want to hear. In today's society, many feel there is discrimination towards the two Democratic candidates, Hilary Clinton and Barack Obama, because one is female and the other is an African American. Many people are associating discrimination with gender and race. Although those candidates posses those traits, we can't go pretending "that there are no distinctions to be made". But if people can look past the biases and listen to these candidates' words, it will be to the benefit of society, voting for who they think is the best qualified. As Miller states at the end of his essay: "The ability to make intelligent judgements is essential both for the success of one's personal life and for the functioning of society as a whole."