The Purpose of Affirmative Action

The purpose of affirmative action is to ensure equal opportunity for minorities. But it has strayed from its original intent and has become largely a program to achieve not equal opportunity but equal results. It is a system of quotas forced upon American businesses and working class by the federal government. A law which forces people to look at race before looking at the individual cannot promote equal opportunity. Affirmative action continues the judgement of minorities by race; it causes reverse discrimination, and contradicts its purpose. Affirmative action is not creating a colorblind society. In fact it continues the judgement of minorities according to race. Affirmative action forces employers and colleges to lower the standard for minorities. It also is demeaning to minorities who want to be judged by their actions, not their skin color. When companies are hiring or promoting, or when a college decides which applicants to accept, many are unable to judge by merit alone. They are required by law to make race a deciding factor in their decisions in order to meet the mandated quotas. Affirmative action is also demeaning to most minorities. It makes them feel as though the government views them as having less ability than others. It also forces minorities to be compared to their own race instead of the overall population. Another reason why affirmative action should not exist is that it is reverse discrimination. Americans do not believe that past discrimination justifies present discrimination. When a minority is turned down because of the color of their skin, it is unconstitutional. But when a white person is turned down because they are white, it is called equal opportunity. There is no excuse for anyone to be judged by something as trivial as race. There should not be a double standard. The third major reason why affirmative action should not exist is that it completely contradicts its purpose. Its purpose is to create a colorblind