Affirmative action is an outdated, unconstitutional, unfair, progressively corrosive policy that needs to be eliminated by our politicians in Washington. First, I’d like to point out that the 14th Amendment gives all US citizens equal protection under the law. How then can we look at two different people and give one preference over the other on physical appearance only? How then can we look at two people, regardless of color or creed and tell them that one of them has a specific genetic trait that is more preferable for admission or employment. How then was this policy put into practice in the first place? One of the building blocks of our nation, the Declaration of Independence states that, “All men are created equal”.
I’d like the time to even contrast this policy to that of basic economics. I think it is hard to find someone to disagree with the fact that for our country to compete on the global stage, then we need the best and brightest representing us both in foreign countries and domestically. Well, affirmative action takes this policy and throws it upside down. It takes the most qualified applicants and sets them aside for those that are less qualified but belong to some minority group. I am not saying that minorities will not sometimes be the most qualified; I am saying that when they are not the most qualified, they should not be hired. I would even go as far as to say that on applications for anything, having the race of the applicant on the application should be illegal. It is nobody’s business what race or ethnic background you are from, employer or admissions counselors should not even see this information.
I understand that many liberals point out that lower class black people are born with fewer opportunities than upper and middle class white people. What I do not understand is why one needs to look at race to attack an economic issue. What better to help poor people than by focusing on….well….being poor….rather than race. Isn’t actually being poor a more accurate portrayal of being poor than the race of that person? Why does Kobe Bryant’s child have an edge over your or my child? If such a program promoting equality of opportunity is enacted, then why are we looking at race over economic status?
In 2003, the Supreme Court ruled in a case about college admissions at the University of Michigan that race can be used in college admissions, but it cannot be the overriding factor. This ruling that the Supreme Court decided, lets every college deal with something that is very subjective. The student who challenged this program was upset that in admissions at the University of Michigan, a point system was used. A student had to receive a certain number of points to be accepted to the University of Michigan. For a perfect SAT score, the student would receive 12 points, but for belonging to a racial minority the student would receive 20 points. The lawyers for the plaintiff said that 20 points was equivalent to a whole grade point increase. Clarence Thomas (who is by the way, African American), in his dissenting opinion, said, " The law school, of its own choosing, and for its own purposes, maintains an exclusionary admissions system that it knows produces racially disproportionate results. Racial discrimination is not a permissible solution to the self-inflicted wounds of this elitist admissions policy." I will be thankful though that in previous decisions, race was allowed to be used in admission, but racial quotas were banned. Maybe one day our Supreme Court justices will wise up and make a better decision.
I was not alive when JFK introduced this program. I do not know what it was like to live with extreme racism and prejudice. I do not understand the so called race wars of the 60’s. What I do know is that in today’s day and age, affirmative action not only does little to prevent racism, but it fosters anger and resentment from lower class white citizens because they are born with the same lack of opportunities that their lower class black neighbors are born with. It is not 1961, and as hard as it might be for liberals to end a program that (the only man who may be more Jesus like than Obama) JFK started, it needs to be done.
You make sense that affirmative action only creates inequality among the masses and the increases cultural tension so it may need to be changed. But I disagree with your first paragraph.
ReplyDeleteYou state that the decleration of independence states that all men are created equal. Do you think that is was a wrong thing for our government to try to make people on a more equal footing back when things were so unequal in the 1960's? That was rhetorical since you already stated so later in your entry. The point is that despite the challenge it is to eliminate a social welfare program in a democratic country, the majority of the black population in your country is still worse off than the white population. And racism still exists. Just because we are reaching an age where there are rich black people with legitimate income does not mean the majority population does not still require assistance.
I do agree that the poor economic class should be united in its discontent and not seperated by racial lines.
Also, lower class white citisens are already culturally trained to be socially attached to groups; race, favourite sports team, brand of vehicle. Have you ever watched the Olympics and made an irrational comment about the competing country? Your attached to your country. But this is a conservative blog, no doubt.