The time has come to end affirmative action. The time has simply come to end the existence of a program that began with the best of intentions but now appears more paradoxical to the concept of America as a melting pot: a multicultural society in which we have, to quote, "equality for all, and preference for none." Is affirmative action really doing this? The answer is no.
There was a thoughtful Letter to the Editor in the Daily, written on November 3, 1995, in which the letter writer, Michael Burke, stated that he is "sick of hearing about it" - it being affirmative action - being labeled reverse discrimination. In his letter, Burke, who is white, states that "For several reasons, I now believe that there is no such thing as reverse discrimination. But that's just my educated opinion Until people educate themselves by stepping out of their own little worlds and get a clue as to what real discrimination is, I don't want to hear about it." While I don't really agree with Burke's letter on the whole, I do think people need to become more educated about other cultures. I figure this is a good point to indicate the relative fallacies concerning affirmative action.
For starters, Times Have Changed. Back before the 1960s, minorities certainly faced what Burke calls "real" discrimination. They had to endure much prejudice, and it was enforced by law in the South. Do the people who lived during this time and live and work today deserve affirmative action? You're certainly right they do. But what of the people who were born during the 1970s and 1980s? For institutional racism had been abolished, and the "equality of opportunity" was no longer limited by race, but by economics, and there was much greater understanding between whites and nonwhites. Hence, what we now have is a system that advocates one group [born after 1970] over another when it is not warranted. Since all people are created equal under God and, since 1964, the Law, the logical conclusion is that those who were not hampered by institutionalized racism should not benefit from a program designed to do such a thing. The logical solution? For all those born before a certain year, say 1970 or 1975, keep affirmative action. For those born after it, who play on the same field, discontinue the program slowly by phasing out the program or quickly by ending it altogether.
Secondly, it assumes that Everything Can Be Solved by lumping whites, and men in particular, all of whom have supposedly achieved some kind of tangible advantage and benefits from the color of their skin alone, into one group. NonÐwhites, all of whom are assumed to be the victims of the aforementioned group because the white males were obviously all attempting to hinder the nonÐwhites in various ways constitute the second group. Was this true 30 years ago? Yes and no. Racism was certainly prevalent back then, and in some places enforced by law, but it was not practiced by all white people. Not all whites were or are racist; this goes without saying about any one group. But are the racial attitudes of the people who lived in the 1960s present in the people of the 1990s? No, and furthermore, there is no longer any institutionalized racism. There has been none for 30 years. So why is this system of preferential treatment still implemented? A major answer is, "Because of racism and discrimination."
Racism is not a one way street. People other than whites can be racist. One example is Louis Farrakhan, who apparently doesn't really like anyone. Anyone of any skin or nationality or religion can be racist. It is not limited to whites or white males. As a white male, I've had to deal with people who don't like me for the color of my skin. Hence, due to the omnipresence of discrimination, affirmative action's relevance as a program designed to benefit those who fall victim to discrimination is brought into question. I'm not saying that discrimination doesn't exist. I know it does and so do you. But members of all races and nationalities discriminate, so if this is the case, why institute affirmative action? All of us face discrimination, committed by all races, and since institutionalized racism no longer exists, racism exists entirely on a personal level. Hence, the argument that racial discrimination is a reason for affirmative action is invalid.
What I have gleaned from Burke's letter is that many people (he doesn't specify the race) are not in favor of this policy. I think that many whites are and will become resentful of this policy, for it indirectly hurts them. I think that affirmative action may actually increase racist attitudes in the U.S. Here is a hypothetical situation:
The year is 1996, and John and Bob are two workers who just graduated from high school. They are applying for a job at Some Corporation. They meet in the personnel department of Some Company and find out they are applying for the same job. John is black and Bob is white. John is more qualified than Bob for the position and John gets the job. But psychologically, this makes it possible for Bob to possibly blame his failure on "affirmative action" and on minorities in general even when it is obvious that John was the best man for the job. It is certainly wrong to think this way, of course, but it happens regardless of whether John was more qualified, or whether he was less qualified. And now we have one more "angry white male." With the existence of affirmative action, it doesn't matter who is more qualified, for it increases hostility between whites and nonÐwhites. Isn't that what we are trying to prevent? Without affirmative action, Bob's reaction would most likely be to open the classified ads and start searching again for a job, and not even consider race. Affirmative action directly fuels the fire of racism even as it attempts to correct it! Quite a paradox.
I've pointed out quite a few serious flaws in affirmative action, but what are the solutions to the racial problems that America faces today? I think solutions are needed if we are to replace affirmative action with other programs that help those who are disadvantaged economically, for I believe that society must deal with the widening class divisions. So what should be done?
Educationally, we could: 1) Keep student loans funded and create a special focus to help those who simply cannot afford a college education. 2) Establish noÐstringsÐattached federal funding for any primary and secondary schools in need, to help them increase their ability to educate and give their students the same educational opportunities as others have. For example, as we know, all schools do not have the same curriculum others do. This would help correct that problem. 3) Make it much more possible for qualified students to go to other school districts for instruction. 4) Along with returning to Western Basics, include a good amount of NonÐWestern Basics involved in the curriculum, starting in the 1st grade. This will promote increased cultural understanding and would help in combating what affirmative action ineffectually combats. In the workplace, we could: 1 ) Hire, fire, and promote on the basis of merit alone. 2) Make sure that race is not a factor in matters of performance review or disciplinary actions meted out to employees. 3) The corporations could also take a strong role in educating students and prepare them to act in a global economy.
It is apparent that affirmative action is a program that is outdated, and needs to be scrapped for those born after 1970 or 1975, and the basis for having such a program is for the most part invalid. Instead, we should make a great effort to help those who are in need economically, of all races, while keeping affirmative action for those who suffered under institutionalized racism. We can also make greater steps in educating our youth all the way to the college level by improving education.
By ending affirmative action for those born after 1970 or 1975 and instead implementing a totally meritocratic system with increased informative cultural education, we can truly end many of the problems of racism along with adding the benefits of having an educated, culturally diverse workforce. This would eventually lead to a much more cooperative, educated, and driven society that would not only would live together in greater racial harmony, but would be much more able to function in an increasingly global marketplace. Along with this, we can still correct for the institutionalized racism for those who had to deal with it. So what do you think?