Affirmative Action

Essay by EssaySwap ContributorUniversity, Bachelor's February 2008

download word file, 5 pages 0.0

Policies which are created to ensure equal opportunities for all persons are acceptable, and in fact are mandated by the constitution, however when these policies exceed their original intention and attempt to intentionally favor minority individuals, they become self-defeating. The most controversial legal issue pertaining to equality rights is the one regarding affirmative action, a concept whose existence has led to numerous problems within the constitution, and more than enough animosity that is largely race-based. The legislative policy of affirmative action breaches its very goal of achieving a completely unbiased society as there are no limits as to how affirmative action is taken; the effects of it are problematic both in long and short terms; and the rights of minorities to function in society will eventually be solely determined by legislation, not by their own worth as individuals.

An important concept to consider is that, unlike anti-discrimination laws that protect the rights of all individuals, affirmative action policies have no limits placed on them, a fact which could lead to a situation in which reverse-discrimination becomes inevitable, and majority individuals are no longer able to prosper as easily as they once could.

Dinesh D'Souza, conservative thinker and author, states that "Racism…has no redeeming features." The attempt of applying affirmative action as a tool of defeating racism only develops it on a larger, more global scale. It is inevitable that this will spring an assault on the constitution, with people from both sides declaring victimization at the hands of the government. In terms of a legal perspective, affirmative action policies are in direct violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which "Prohibits discrimination in all programs on the basis of color, race, or national origin." This one sentence in itself is arguably part of the most significant piece of...