NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - There are few issues that excite our national psyche like affirmative action. Advocates maintain it's necessary to assure equal opportunity and diversity in our schools and workplaces... opponents claim affirmative action denies equal opportunity and is inherently unconstitutional. But in my opinion, it's less an issue than a manifestation of far deeper problems we continue to ignore as a country.

Ask nearly anyone in this country... white or minority, liberal or conservative, Democrat or Republican... whether they believe our schools and workplaces should be representative of our society, whether they believe in diversity... and most will without hesitation say yes, absolutely.

We as a society have a shared vision of this nation... life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness... and yes, equal opportunity. But the Michigan case the Supreme Court will decide next year, no matter what their judgment, stands as far more than a rallying issue for the advocates and opponents of affirmative action. It is a clear statement of our failure as a nation to make affirmative action an irrelevancy. Our elementary and secondary schools are failing in their mission to provide a quality education to all... but especially African-Americans and Hispanics. Too many parents are failing their children... because both fathers and mothers must work to provide for their families. Business and political leaders must take the forefront in changing the way we ignore, and ultimately, abuse the children we neglect in our public school system.

These failures, in my opinion, can only be overcome when both Democrats and Republicans commit themselves to a vast improvement in our schools, letting teachers educate students who want to learn, and assure parents the opportunity to participate in, and be responsible for, their children's education from the first grade on. That would be truly an affirmative action that would do our nation proud. And assure that we never have another embarrassment like the Michigan case.