Affirmative Action

Persuasive Essay # 94986

English > Persuasive Writing
Ethnic Studies > North American
Hot Topics > Affirmative Action

Affirmative Action

An argument against the effectiveness of affirmative action in combating racism.

4,005 words () | 9 sources | APA | 2007 United States

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses affirmative action in the United States. It argues against affirmative action on the basis that it is no longer a feasible way of combating today's more subtle forms of racism. The paper suggests that it is in the best interest of the government and society of a country to look towards a more socioeconomic view, rather than a completely racial outlook on society.

From the Paper:

"The duty of any government is to protect the rights of the citizens it serves. The United States government is not exempt from this responsibility. From its conception, the United States was built upon a foundation of freedom, free will, and equality. However, the movement towards this idealistic society has been wrought with injustices and ignorance laden prejudices. When a civil injustice occurs against a minority, gender, race, ethnic population, or any other group of ostracized constituency, revolutions and civil rights movements are born. These two options have seen success in forms that vary from the Civil War to the civil rights movement of years past. While most civil rights movements are spearheaded by the very citizens that are being discriminated against, there are instances where government initiated initiatives are at the forefront. Affirmative action is one such governmental initiative which aims to create more equal opportunities in the work place, education, and other aspects of life. While on first glance, affirmative action appears to be an appealing prospective solution to years of racism and discrimination, a more insightful examination of all that it entails clearly shows that affirmative action has had no significant positive effect and is actually detrimental to those it tries to help. Affirmative action has become so skewed in its outlook that its original form is no longer one of equality for all; rather, it has become an ugly form of reverse discrimination. During the time in which affirmative action originated, forms of discrimination were much more prevalent. In today's modern society, discrimination still occurs, but it is no longer as obvious. Affirmative action is an antiquated tool which the government no longer should be able to use because of its inability to sufficiently protect the rights of all citizens."

Sample of Sources Used:

"About Us." American Association for Affirmative Action. 2006. AAAA. 14 Mar. 2007 <http://www.affirmativeaction.org/about.html>.
Brunner, Borgna. "Timeline of Affirmative Action Milestones." Infoplease. 2006. 15 Mar. 2007 <http://www.infoplease.com/spot/affirmativetimeline1.html>.
Folger, John K. United States. National Center for Education Statistics. U.S. Department of Education. Digest of Education Statistics: 2005. 2005. 13 Mar. 2007 <http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d05/tables/dt05_008.asp>.
"Fourteenth Amendment Annotations." FindLaw. 2007. 15 Mar. 2007 <http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data/constitution/amendment14/18.html>.
"GRATZ Et Al. V. BOLLINGER Et Al." FindLaw. 2007. 15 Mar. 2007 <http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=000&invol=02-516>.