Right is Often Right

Affirmative action. The idea is enough to silence the mouths of spineless white males everywhere. It is an untouchable subject because it has been deemed politically incorrect and morally foul to stand up against it. If someone disagrees with the principles of affirmative action, they must be racist, right? Wrong. Of course not. That may be what the far left side of the spectrum wants the country to think, but we all know how rarely they are correct anyway.

Do not start formulating your opinion yet. If you already have, clear your mind again, and let's go through this in a rational, systematic manner. First of all, let's make sure we all understand exactly what affirmative action is. For a non-biased answer to that question, we'll go to Webster. Dictionary.com defines affirmative action as "a policy or a program that seeks to redress past discrimination through active measures to ensure equal opportunity, as in education and employment." For our purposes, we will just focus on affirmative action in the educational system. Keep in mind that this has not specified racial discrimination. There are other types that are also included under the umbrella of affirmative action, such as gender or age. What the definition does specify is that the purpose is to "redress PAST discrimintation." "Past" is an important word here. Affirmative action is trying to make up for the past.

Alright, remember to keep your emotions and preconceptions out of the picture here; we're not finished yet. Ok, so the first problem that comes up with affirmative action is that the past that it is trying to make up for is just that, the past. People of the past, people who REALLY suffered, are not benefiting from affirmative action. Therefore, from that standpoint, the ideology is way off. But there is an intelligent arguement to this point: people of today are affected by the mistreatment of their ancestors. For instance, the discrimination and displacement of African-Americans in the past has had a lasting effect, as is seen by the overwhelming amount of African-Americans living in poorer inner city conditions. So the thought is that we owe a certain amount of minorities the opportunity to pursue higher education. You know what, I agree with that to a point. But I need to clarify exactly where that point is.

First of all, basing the decision to admit a person to a college based solely on race or ethnicity is unacceptable. This would assume that all people of a certain minority are disenfranchised. No way! Believe it or not, there are Hispanics in the upper-middle class. Would you believe that there are even African-Americans in the upper class? So this assumption that a person can be selected for an easier entrance into higher learning based only on race can't be used. Instead we must use something that actually has validity. Adversity. Adversity can be from economics, family situations, health, and many other things. Adversity does not just apply to one race. Anyone can experience adversity, and it is adversity that makes it more difficult for a person to make it into college, not race. Race may be a cause of adversity, then again it may not. But adversity does deserve some special consideration.

Alright, open minds now, remember. So what kind of special consideration does adversity deserve? It deserves a chance at what it otherwise may not have received. This is where the catch is. The left takes that to mean that those who have gone through adversity deserve Harvard, the University of Michigan, UCLA. Hold on now. We can help those who have endured adversity to get a fresh start on life, but that doesn't mean that they must have entrance to the very best educational institutions. Those spots are, and should be, reserved for people who not only want them, but have proven themselves worthy of them through years of hard work. As politically incorrect as this will seem to some, the straight-forward truth is that people that need to benefit from affirmative action are people that do not have evidence in their lives that would point to a successful future at a Harvard or a Yale. Most of us don't either. So where can we send these people to have a fresh start at life? Well, community colleges for one thing. They are far less expensive and offer many career paths that will allow a person to establish themselves as professionals. But not just communtiy colleges. There are plenty of less prestigious universities that are also less expensive and have fantastic opportunities. These places are much easier to get into, and even people with the greatest amount of adversity can make it, provided they are willing to put a little effort into it.

So by now some of you are probably thinking, "That cocky little WASP sits in his throne with a lot of big talk but no actual knowledge of what he's talking about." Let's keep our minds open a little longer. Yes, I am a WASP and I am a member of that gigantic middle class. All the privileges in the world for me, right? No. I'm not going to deny that I am blessed beyond what I could ever deserve, but don't think that my life is just a walk in the park. I was at the top of my class in high school, I worked my butt off to get where I am. I had a university picked out that I would have loved to go to, and was even accepted there. It was fairly prestigious, but it was also quite expensive. So I decided that I would attend one of those less prestigious universities I mentioned before, because I simply did not have the money to attend the place I really wanted to go. I don't hold this against anyone. I made a sacrifice that will benefit me in the long run. I'm starting out small, and it will be my job to make something of myself, with God's help. You know what this is... it's the self-made man.

This is what has caused all the problems with affirmative action, the disapperance of the self-made man. Liberals would have us believe that the government owes those who have gone through adversity everything, and by everything I mean everything. No. The government owes those who have gone through adversity something, but not everything. The government owes these people grants and loans to finance their education, wherever they are accepted. It is not the government's job to get them accepted. If these people really want to make something of themselves, they just need to put in a little effort on their own. Even if it means just starting at a community college. Baby steps. Remember the self-made man. The self-made man will bring the true resolve to all these problems. I am living proof of that. My grandparents were dirt poor. They worked their tails off to make a life for my parents. My parents thus started in a better position than my grandparents did, and now I sit here with the great opportunities I have. The government didn't do much to help my grandparents. They made themselves, and in two generations that family became a part of the upper-middle class. Two generations! Slavery came to an end nearly a century an a half ago, and African-Americans are still having a tough time getting out of the rut they were left in. You want to know why? Because affirmative action in its current form is keeping them down. Give them a little financial support, and let them make themselves into whatever they want to become. That's what every other family in America has done.

So now for the summary. Quotas and handouts are why affirmative action falls short and why it is not getting us anywhere but to the pharmacy for some headache medicine. Affirmative action needs to be giving a little bit of help to people who have actually experienced adversity, and letting them decide what to do with their lives. Remember the self-made man. It may seem like a quick fix to put a certain amount of minorities into Harvard, but as we all can see, that is obviously not the case because nothing is happening quickly. Alright. You have been very patient. Now think about what I've said. Don't just decide that you are going to disagree with me because I'm conservative. Consider this analysis we've gone through together, then give me your opinion on it. Trust me, my mind is open to your ideas too, and I'm sure I can learn from you.