The purpose of affirmative action was to establish equality, not to perpetuate discrimination. Affirmative action, particularly pertaining to the admissions process of the American education system, has unintentionally morphed into a noxious means of discrimination against the majority, and is thus dangerously eroding America's foundational morals of merit and equality.
The Civil Rights Act was initially enacted to achieve equal employment opportunity,"The provisions of the act forbade discrimination on the basis of race in hiring, promoting, and firing." Additionally, the act demanded for governmental programs, combined with public initiatives, to eliminate past and present discrimination. Thus, effectively combating the potential for future discrimination.
As new generations approach admission to the education system and the employment field, affirmative action has proven to be outdated, and in turn discriminatory. Particularly pertaining to admission to institutions of higher education, affirmative action has so heavily favored certain minorities that it has eroded the American merit system, justified many inadequacies in American students and the public school system, bred resentment towards minorities, and has once again institutionalized racial discrimination.
The concept of affirmative action was established to institutionalize racial equality within society; however, its affect on modern society contradicts the foundation it was created upon. Placing certain races above others is what caused the racial schism that drastically harmed American culture. Many decades ago when discrimination shielded minorities from opportunity and success, affirmative action was imperative. But society has grown immensely since its past discrimination. The idea of necessary preferential treatment is no longer applicable to contemporary society and especially not to the education system. On the contrary, affirmative action within the admissions process gives birth to new forms of discrimination; which only perpetuates the ignorant rationales that supported racism in its earlier forms.
Affirmative action's preferential treatment towards minorities is not only discriminatory to the majority, but it also psychologically undermines the capabilities of the minorities it is aiming to help. Not holding certain factions of society to the same expectations as everyone else facilitates feelings of inadequacy. By enforcing the same admissions criteria on everyone, it will inspire the youth to achieve universal excellence without the crutch of affirmative action, "If minority students are not held to the same standards, they become mere actors creating feel-good Potemkin villages of diversity." Potemkin villages were fake settlements constructed to exude a façade of success; while admitting minorities aimed to evoke racial equality and opportunity within the American education system, that is not the reality. The act of promoting undeserving candidates is an insult to minorities as a whole. As long as minorities receive preferential treatment in the admissions process, they will be regarded to as inferior classes within society, negating all of America's perilous work done to establish racial equality.
Advocates for affirmative action argue that modern society still endorses structural racism in the form of standardized testing, justifying the necessity for affirmative action; however, this argument is negated by the availability of the primary education system, public libraries, and the Internet. Standardized testing is a major component in the admissions process. Statistically, certain minorities continually test lower than others. Much of this is attributed to the cost of prep courses and the language barriers that many minorities face, but these obstacles can be absolved in a variety of ways. The primary public education system, which is guaranteed to all citizens, instills English into students starting at the age of five. Granted that not every school system is adequately funded to offer individual help, readily accessible public libraries serve as a secondary learning venue. Almost free, public libraries contain endless amounts of beneficial learning materials that will improve one's English. Additionally, the accessibility of the Internet provides an inexpensive learning device. No amount of prep courses can compare to years of this accessible and affordable preparation. All of the methods will copiously prepare any student, without regard to their race or national origin, for standardized testing. Standardized testing is not a form of structural racism; rather, it is an unbiased form of testing that necessitates logic, problem-solving abilities, and American education. Accordingly, successful scores depend upon such skills, and not upon one's race.
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