Affirmative Action: The Tool of the Racists
The human search for individuality has been the motivating force behind humanity’s ascent to new heights; Furthermore, the struggle to differentiate oneself from others, in the pursuit of greatness, has led to racism: discrimination against a person or group on the basis of race, religion or creed to limit their advancement. This act of bringing down a group of people based on insecurities is as fundamentally flawed as using affirmative action to rectify those mistakes.
Those with racist beliefs may hate certain groups based on their religion, spoken language, or place of birth. As in the case of a United States Army soldier who used the Koran, the holy book of Islam, to practice target shooting in Iraq during May 2008. This crime, called carelessness on the part of the shooter, was meant to be harmless though, the bullet-riddled Qur’an was marked with a target and had an expletive strewn across one of its pages. This form of racism, although passive in nature, is no less harmful than institutional racism, which represses certain groups through propaganda, denying benefits based on a belief system or racial differences.
What may seem like a significant racial difference, such as rough hair, facial structure, or skin color, is not too distinctive a factor according to the scientific community. In fact, the genetic differences that make our appearance unique are less significant than those that make us similar. In the book, In my father’s house: Africa in the philosophy of culture By Kwame Anthony Appiah, the author writes: “There are few genetic characteristics found in the population of England that are not found in similar proportions in Zaire or China …” This statement not only acknowledges our common footprint, but also reveals a world Bob Marley envisioned when he sang, “One Love, One Heart. Let’s Get Together and Feel Good.”
Despite our similarities, racism prevails. In 1961, President Kennedy introduced affirmative action as a plan to correct errors that persisted despite civil rights laws; however, it was not implemented until after President Johnson’s 1965 commencement address at Howard University.
Affirmative action, which focuses primarily on employment and education programs, ensures that minorities enjoy benefits such as school admission, financial aid, scholarship options, salary advancement, and the opportunity to grow within a community. company, which in the past had been predominantly reserved for Caucasians. From its inception, affirmative action was conceived as a temporary panacea designed to create equal opportunity for all Americans.
Those who oppose affirmative action say it devalues personal achievements because candidates are chosen based on their social group and not on their qualifications. Furthermore, affirmative action supporters are not fighting to end racial discrimination, but are demanding that racial discrimination be legalized and enforced. They apparently want to ignore equality by proclaiming that skin color should be the primary consideration.
As a result, the Caucasian man is more likely to be denied employment or educational benefits due to his grandfather’s actions, regardless of whether his grandfather practiced such beliefs. Times have changed, because it is no longer the oppressor, but those who were once oppressed who demand racial quotas.
Fortunately for Americans, we live in a country protected by the law of the First Amendment, which protects the freedom of expression of everybody American people. The base behind the right is not only accept what you agree with, but also what you disagree with. No doctrine, however despicable morally, can be prohibited by law; however, two mistakes do not do good. Therefore, affirmative action should have there is no place in our society as a means to combat racism. Edwin A. Locke said it best: “You can’t cure racism with more racism.”
Equality is the same for everyone until next time …
