SACRAMENTO, CA - A politician not noted for insights recently provided a moment of true enlightenment when the state got a long awaited piece of news. As Census data reveal, non-Hispanic whites are no longer the majority in California, the first time that has been true since the Gold Rush. Non-Hispanic whites are nearly 47 percent of the Golden State’s population. As it breaks down, Hispanics are 32.4 percent, Asians 10.8 percent, African Americans 6.4 percent, American Indian and Alaska natives 0.9 percent, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders 0.3 percent, "some other race" 0.2 percent, and "two or more races" 4.7 percent. The state, as it is politically correct to say, is more "diverse," and the diversity had the Lt. Governor pondering.

"If there is no majority, maybe there are no minorities," said Cruz Bustamante. "The time has finally come for us simply to refer to ourselves as Californians."

Mr. Bustamante is absolutely right, but first some context.

A few months ago, while addressing a gathering of African-American trade unionists, Bustamante used the dreaded "N-word," causing many in the audience to walk out. Mr. Bustamante is a liberal Democrat and technically a minority. He took plenty of criticism, but the storm quickly passed and he remained safe in his office. Had he been a white conservative, one may be certain he would have been forced to resign in short order. But perhaps this incident got him thinking that the old dialectic of a privileged ruling majority versus oppressed, embattled minorities simply doesn’t work any more--not that it ever had any validity. For one thing, the numbers simply don’t support it.

We’re all minorities now, and from that reality, certain policies must flow. The case for equal treatment under the law is stronger than ever, reinforced by Census data. No group can claim that institutional arrangements discriminate against them. No evil "majority" looms as an easy villain.

The Census data confirm that Californians were ahead of the game when they voted in 1996 to pass Proposition 209. That measure forbids the state to use race and gender preferences in state employment, education, and contracting. Likewise, the year before the University of California did away with entry to the UC system on the basis of race.

These were both in the best tradition of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, equal treatment under the law, equal opportunity, and a color-blind society. They were blows against quotas and a racial spoils system that refuses to recognize personal differences, effort, and choice. All should start equally, but outcomes can’t be rigged by racial preferences.

As Bustamante puts it, the time has come to call ourselves simply Californians. That makes much more sense than the endless quest to gain some kind of accredited victim status. In the new paradigm, ethnicity is trumped by actions, driven by the content of our character.

Those who say racism still exists are, of course, correct. But race-neutral policies will do more to quell racism than government favoritism and quotas. Those wanting to take affirmative action against racism can start by working against continuing double standards. For example, public officials who utter racial slurs should be treated by one standard.

- K. Lloyd Billingsley