What is the place of social conservatism today, and should we stop progressing?

I'm proud of the progress the US has made in race relations and for gay and transgendered Americans. I'm proud of the abolition of slavery and of granting women the vote. I'm proud of our denunciation of our Japanese internment camps. I think more progress can be made on most of these fronts, albeit much smaller changes than in the past, and also think "progress" can safely be halted in many of these directions.

I believe that African Americans and blacks should be treated fairly. This means that they should have the same opportunities as whites. In order for that to happen, Affirmative Action needs to end. Making everyone work for what they have is an essential part of ensuring that our economy and job market function well. Affirmative Action is no longer doing anyone any favors, and may be hurting the reputations of black students that have earned extremely legitimate degrees.

I believe that gay members of our society should be allowed to marry in every state. I have no other point to make here, as that will very soon be done, in accordance with what I believe the 14th Amendment dictates.

I believe that transgendered people should be accepted and, in fact, embraced by our society, in the same way that we embrace others with mental illnesses. The problem is that we aren't accepting them, and the only other voice they're hearing is from those that tell them that they're normal. I'm fine with sex changes for these people; the DSM seems to find that this is a suitable treatment. With psychology being an inexact science, I'll defer to them. But it's important that mental illness of any kind not be labeled as normal behavior unless science begins to prove that.

I believe that all religions are not created equal. Islam is a scourge, and at it's root promotes nothing positive for the human race. Other religions do. It's past time for us to recognize that while every religion should have equal protection, not every religion is worth respecting.

I believe that every person on earth should have the opportunity to become a US citizen. I also believe that not every person should become one. Accept all applications; admit only those who can benefit our nation in some way. It's true that many are born here that don't really deserve the benefits of being an American, and it's true that people born elsewhere would have been better served being born here, and would have served us better by being born here. We as a people and as a government can't fix all of these ills, but we can educate our populace as best we can, and admit as new citizens only those that can contribute.

In short, I believe, as someone who has been progressive, that social progress can and must end at some point. Progressing forever for the sake of it is foolish, costly and at times dangerous. I'll finish by saying that there are still and may be more issues that we can reasonably continue to grow on, but that for the most part, we're doing very well and could, in fact, afford to stop "progressing" on.

ETA: #FTnottrolling