The 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 society. But in reality, it forces people to look at race by mandating quotas. The thinking behind affirmative action is to eliminate racism, we must first take race into account. Yet this causes a judgmental atmosphere in which many people feel cheated because the focus has been taken off the individual and placed everyone into groups based on race and gender. It is illegal for the government to require quotas as well.
Therefore affirmative action is unconstitutional and should be illegal. Affirmative action is also taking the focus off the individual. That is why Florida governor, Jeb Bush, has banned race and gender preference with his One Florida plan which will end affirmative action. The plan also guarantees that every student within the top 20% is guaranteed admission into college. Seldom has a democratic governments policy so completely contradicted the core values of its citizenry as racial preference does. Affirmative action presumes that a characteristic such as skin color or gender should define the amount of governmental assistance and support that one should receive. Americans, in short, oppose racial preference in all its embodiments, and have signified their opposition in opinion poll after opinion poll . Our society should be blind to distinctions based on color, gender, or any other immutable characteristics. Overall, affirmative action causes racism, is unconstitutional and should be eliminated. Required racial judgement cannot possibly lead to a diverse and colorblind society.
