Affrimative Action

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Affirmative Action

Affirmative action is a major legal issue in our country today. Many people have many different opinions on the subject today. Some say that it is a moral issue that has nothing to do with the legal system. However others say it is a necessity in order for blacks and woman to catch up to the white males who have suppressed them throughout history. I think this issue is an important one because it has to do with discrimination on both sides. I will be explaining the opinion of authors Charles Murray and James P. Sterba, and the problems I see with affirmative action.
Charles Murray has an approach to affirmative action that most people that are against do not argue. He argues that affirmative action hurts minorities, and will continue to hurt them in the future. He feels that it is making things worse, not better for society.
He comes up with a group of people that he labels the new racists. These new racists are typically well intentioned white people who firmly believe in affirmative action. They do not think blacks are inferior, and they support civil rights. They do not look at blacks with malice as the old racists did. These new racists think that minorities are only there because the company has to hire a certain number of them. This can hurt the minorities self of steam and job.
Murray also suggests that using affirmative action programs in college applications is a bad situation for minorities to get into. An example would be two seniors in high school, one black and one white. They each score the same on their ACT. With the affirmative action programs the black kid goes to Harvard, and the white kid attends Purdue. The kid that attends Harvard does not have the background to make good achievements. He is frustrated and begins to feel a low self-esteem. The black kid either drops out or continues his low grades at Harvard with a feeling that he does not belong. The white kid is rec...