Analysis: Government Involvement In Affirmative Action

PLS 100
Mini-Essay #1
Government Involvement in Affirmative Action The Government should not continue affirmative action because it is no longer effective in preventing discrimination. Affirmative action has done a lot more harm than good because it is not hurting people that should not be denied opportunities. Affirmative action gives minorities an advantage, but it is not changing how people see them. It is no longer needed because minorities will still be able to get jobs and have plenty of opportunities without it in place. Affirmative action has allowed business and schools to accept people who are not as qualified, which is unfair to them. As a Caucasian person, I believe that we need to stop seeing people as different from us based
on the color of their skin. We need to stop seeing them as less qualified, or inferior because of the past. Americans are still having “discussions about… the ‘problems’ black people pose for whites rather than consider what this way of viewing black people reveals about us as a nation,” saying that we are still thinking of them as different from us (West, in Lanahan Readings, 28). West is talking about how black people are not the problem, our way of thinking is. This mentality is a problem because we are ignoring the fact that “black people are neither additions to nor defections from American life, but rather constitutive elements of that life,” (West, in Lanahan Readings, 28). Black people are no different from any one else and we should not believe that they are. By enforcing affirmative action we are saying that they are different than us and need extra help in order to have equal chances. I feel this is an unfair statement to make because it gives an excuse for people to see them as unequal and continue that mentality. Even though black people have a different skin color, doesn’t mean white people should be denied opportunities, especially if they are more qualified. It is almost like a double standard in the way it is avoiding discrimination against blacks, but seems to be discriminating against whites. In California v. Bakke (1978), Bakke applied to Cal. Davis University and was denied admission because he was not a minority, although he was better qualified than the ones who got accepted. In this specific case they ruled that affirmative action did not violate the Fourteenth Amendment, but it did deny Bakke his rights. Because of affirmative action, a white man was denied acceptance to a University due to the color of his skin. It is almost like a retroactive function because the whole purpose of affirmative action was to make it so people of all races would be accepted. The cases that followed Bakke that were about schools’ systems for diversity, are examples of how no one truly knows how to deal with it. The Supreme Court kept changing their thoughts on the best way to fix past discrimination because they don’t really know what the best way is. I feel it would be fairer to do away with affirmative action and accept students based on other qualifications. Affirmative action was put in place to solve the race issue, however, as our views on race have changed over time it seems as though it is no longer needed.
Ogletree made a good point when he talked about how, “affirmative action must be limited in time, and the Court expects it will no longer be necessary twenty-five years from now,” (in Lanahan Readings, 383). He was saying that he felt that it should only be in place for a few years because he was able to anticipate the views of Americans changing. Several cases have been brought to court that may overturn affirmative action in the future. One case is the Fisher case, which “offers the opportunity, if those Justices choose to hear it, to at least fine tune and narrow the standards for using race in affirmative action in higher education admissions or even, perhaps, to overrule Grutter;” although this case is not perfect, it would be a good case to possibly end affirmative action (Wermiel). In my opinion, the race issue really isn’t even an issue anymore. I see more and more minorities in positions of power and being accepted into colleges. They have been given more
opportunities. Some people may argue that more black people live in worse neighborhoods than white people that are poor and come from broken homes.
However, there are still white people that live in poverty and bad neighborhoods as well. It is the children’s decision to continue education or not. They can get financial aid or find alternatives. Statistics show that they choose themselves to not continue to go tot school. In my opinion, affirmative action is no longer effective in helping minorities combat the effects of past discrimination because now it is hurting other people. It gives people an excuse to continue to discriminate by allowing them to see black people as needing help, which they no longer need. Anyone can turn their life around and do something great if they have the will power to do so, without the government’s help. As I mentioned before, affirmative action did have a timeline and I believe it has finally reached its
end.

Works Cited
Ogletree, Charles. “All Deliberate Speed.” The Lanahan Readings in American Polity. Eds. Everett Ladd & Ann Serow. Baltimore: Lanahan Publishers, Inc., 2011. 379-387. Print.
Wermiel, Stephen. “SCOTUS for law students: Barbara Grutter, meet Abigail Fisher.” SCOTUSblog. n.p. 11 Oct. 2011. Web. 29 April 2013.
West, Cornel. “Race Matters.” The Lanahan Readinsg in American Polity. Eds. Everett Ladd & Ann Serow. Baltimore: Lanahan Publishers, Inc., 2011. 25-32. Print.