Affirmative Action
Affirmative Action
Everyone has struggles and problems in their lives and who we are is defined by how we respond to those struggles. Affirmative action is a poor and ineffective solution to a made up problems. The Oxford English Dictionary defines Affirmative action as "action taken to affirm an established policy; specifically positive action to ensure that minority groups are not discriminated against." Affirmative action is not well understood by the population at large. This essay attempts to clarify the meaning by way of an extended definition that employs three basic techniques: tracing the history of affirmative action , comparing affirmative action to racism and discrimination, and giving an example of affirmative action in action.
The late President of the United States John F. Kennedy coined the phrase affirmative action in 1961, when he forced federal contractors to provide equal opportunity for minorities seeking employment (Auerbach 35). Federal contractors had to meet racial quotas to facilitate a working environment that was representative of the makeup of the general United States population. The idea of affirmative action was further promoted by the equal opportunity push of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In the seventies President Nixon advanced the idea of affirmative action by "Â…encouraging employers to set goals, timetables, and preferences for minority hiring." (Auerbach 35) The programs seemed to work, on paper at least, more minorities were being hired, but at what cost? Ordinary qualifications such as skill and experience could be laid aside for the sake of reaching a quota. Not until the President of the United States the Honorable Ronald Regan came into power did the sham of affirmative action fall to the wayside. President Regan implemented a new mantra, a "colorblind" society where all people are treated equal and no one is treated special in order to "Â…redress past inequities." (Auerbach 35) More...
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