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While racism Is definitely wrong, the American society as a whole has taken the whole race issue to the other end of the spectrum. People are afraid of being ‘politically incorrect’ and therefore try will keep silence on issues they feel strongly against since it may upset someone else.
Since the Civil Rights Act of 1964, there has been a push to give minorities extra benefits simply because of their race. One of these concepts, named Affirmative Action. allows minorities to have preference over whites and Asians in the work place and In schools. This is done because minorities have been irrevocably damaged by the last 200 years and need the help to be as successful as their white counterparts.
A highly controversial topic, numerous books and documentaries have come out in support or opposition of this practice While in theory sounds like the humane thing to do, Affrmative Action is one of the worst policies by employers and colleges that has created a greater rift between majorities and minorities and has lowered the standards of businesses and schools across the country One of the biggest problems with Affirmative Action is that is causes chools and businesses to lessen their requirements in the name of diversity.
Instead of allowing the best qualified individuals in, regardless of skin color, they are forced to accept worse candidates simply because they are of a certain race. According to Facts on file, a news company, in a recent court case college applicant Abigail Fisher sued the University of Texas because she said they admitted a less qualified person simply because they were black and she was white (Facts on File). Thankfully, the supreme court agreed with her that this was unconstitutional.
Not only does It cause hites and Asians to have to be almost perfect in every aspect If they wish to be admitted to higher end universities and prestigious businesses, it allows the minority groups to slack off and not work hard. As balancedpolitics. org states, “if a minority student can get into Harvard with a 3. 2 GPA what is the point in trying to get a 4. 0? ” (balancedpolltics. org). I think this Is one of the maln underlying Issues of Affirmative Action.
Not only does it promote a form of racism, which despite what the media says can be directed towards whites Just as much as other races, it also ncourages minority students to slack off since they know they can get into school with lower grades then their white counterparts. The best thing for any student, regardless of race. is to work diligently and excel all aspects of their life. Allowing kids to not try hard at school work and then giving them an acceptance letter to a school like Harvard not only hurts the schools, it hurts the kid.
It goes against the American Dream, which states that as long as you work hard you can do anything you want. As the founding fathers said. all men are created equal, regardless of race gender or pbringing (CON). Barring none, the biggest reason that the Affirmative Action program should be racist in the historical sense against black people, is still discriminating against certain people based on the color of their skin.
As John Fund of the National Review states, “Some don’t realize that the 1964 Civil Rights Act that is cited as the authority for mandating preferential treatment for racial minorities actually forbids all racial discrimination,” (Facts on file). The very document that many supporters state as the main reason Affirmative Action can happen is actually the one that provides the trongest argument against them. It states that is unlawful to discriminate any man based on race. It does not specify the race, so whites are also included.
The very people who embraced Martin Luther’s idea of Judging only based on content of character and not skin color do the exact opposite in regard to the Affirmative Action policy (Affirmative action). In addition to violating the Civil Rights Act, it also infringes on the protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The Amendment’s protection clause basically says that the states may not discriminate against any one based on ace, and that all people are equal under the law (ABA).
Terry Pell, senior counsel for the Center for Individual Rights, makes the case that it doesn’t matter what purpose this practice serves (ABA). In his opinion, if it goes against the constitution that makes it illegal. Therefore, denying someone a Job or an admission spot based solely on race is completely and utterly unconstitutional. Once again, this Amendment was designed to protect slaves from being treated as less than other people. Yet it states that all races, black or white, Asian or Mexican, are to be treated equally under the aw.
The Louisiana Fifth Circuit of Court Appeals summed up the argument against Affirmative Action. They said that preferential treatment of certain races in admissions for diversity in higher education does not create equal protection; it contradicts it completely (Facts on File). California banned the use of Affirmative Action in a momentous election in the fall of 1996 (Affirmative Action). Ward Connerly, chairman of the Yes on Proposition 209 campaign, said in his victory speech “Let me be clear: Todays vote was not a rejection of diversity.
It was a rejection of using iversity as an excuse to discriminate” (Affirmative Action). Affirmative Action negates any anti-racist affects by creating discord between the races. Once again, society is grouped into White’ and ‘other’. The whites are portrayed as being wealthy, educated and of having a superior upbringing. First of all, there are plenty of underprivileged white kids who have grown up in very poor communities. Not only do they have to contend with having a less than ideal childhood, they also will grow up knowing that their minority counterparts in that same community will be given preference over them.
Giving such special treatment o minorities causes them to feel inferior, since they are given this treatment because they apparently can’t succeed without it (ABA). In all reality, any kid has the capability of being intelligent, regardless of race. A Hispanic person is no different than a white one on the inside, and the only real difference between either of them is the color of their skin. It is unfair to white kids who have done nothing wrong and who can’t help the color of their skin to be Judged based on that fact alone.
At the end of the day, the ones who will succeed are those who put forth their best effort in all they do. To give someone merit above another person based on nothing either has control over is very wrong. In the words of Shelby Steele, a black professor at Stanford University being reaffirmed in a new guise (Affirmative Action). He believes that such policies are actually hurting the black community by allowing individuals to blame their environment and ancestor’s treatment on their poor behaviors instead of taking personal responsibility.
For us as Americans to truly live in a racist free world, it is time to stop grouping people based on the color of their skin. In a survey conducted y two men over four metropolitan areas, it was discovered that 56% of employers used a form of Affirmative Action in their hiring process (“What does affirmative action do? “). They found that “women or minorities hired into establishments using Affirmative Action are less qualified then white men hired into similar establishments” (“What does affirmative action do? ). This leads to the problem of poor performance of a business. If someone who is not qualified for a role is hired, they will not be able to carry out their Job description as well as someone else who ay be better suited for the position. It also stands to reason that students who have benefitted from Affirmative Action will be ill suited for the prestigious University they have been admitted to. There is a much lower graduation rate for minorities then majorities who are in the same school (balancedpolitics. rg). There is a reason for such strict requirements; the schools are demanding. For that reason among others, all applications (whether for school, work, loans, etc. ) should not take race into account whatsoever. Again, including that question goes against what Martin Luther King was all about, which was Judging a person based on their character (or their qualification in this case). The supporters of Affirmative Action cite things like slavery and segregation as plausible reasons to continue this policy.
However, slavery ended over 150 years ago and all traces of segregation have ended over 50 years ago. Affirmative Action policies were needed during the Civil Rights movement when minorities were unfairly discriminated against (CON). Thankfully, our society is now at a point where such feelings are almost nonexistent against minorities. For example, e Just celebrated Black History Month, which celebrates the Civil Rights movement and praises prominent black individuals. My school had facts on it over the announcements, and even had a Martin Luther King luncheon.
This only proves to me such discriminatory feelings are no longer present to warrant such aggressive policies. In a country where a black man can be voted as president, it is time to get rid of such ideas. Even race extortionists like Jesse Jackson and A1 Sharpton agree that the American society has progressed very far compared to the 50’s and 60’s (Balancedpolitics. rg). Shelby Steele claims in his essay that whites have come a long way since the Civil Rights Act was put in place (Affirmative Action). The American society Just will not give them the credit for it.
While it sounds like a great thing for the citizens of this great country, Affirmative Action is an outdated policy that no longer has a place in our society. It contradicts the entire Civil Right movement by giving preference to people based on the color of their skin. The practice of Affirmative Action, while attempting to compensate for past wrongs, has once again ivided our country into ‘privileged’ and ‘underprivileged’ based solely on race and has caused schools and employers to deliberately diminish the performance and standards of their establishments in the name of diversity.