Affirmative Action

1 Pages 310 Words

Affirmative action was created in the 1960’s during the Civil Rights movement. It is supposed to give special consideration to minorities and women in certain institutions like employment and education. Opponents to affirmative action argue that it has now turned into reverse discrimination. Also that the battle for discrimination has been won, and it is not the job of the government to guarantee the outcome.
I think that preferences should not be made because of past discriminations. People should obtain higher level jobs because of hard work and merit. A majority of the population also agrees. A poll was conducted by Washington Post and ABC News on the opinions of the American people on the issue of discrimination. It showed that three out of four Americans opposed affirmative action for past discriminations.
Minorities also view affirmative action as trying to enable minorities and women.
This poll also showed that forty-six percent of African Americans opposed it, while two out of three women feel the same way. Affirmative action enables minorities, and makes them think that they don’t have to work as hard. I think that it is actually degrading for minorities and women.
Affirmative action helped during the 1970’s for the African American community and for women. Now affirmative action can be considered counterproductive because of the view that it is reverse discrimination. Affirmative action is now dividing the races. It has outlived its usefulness. It was about making sure that evils were not created in the future, not for paying for past sins.
The question is what should be done about affirmative action? I think that preferences should be made to only help minorities and women who meet the requirements. Acceptance to universities and hiring practices should not be based on quotas. We need to change affirmative action....