Essay, Research Paper: Affirmative Action

Affirmative Action: A Bad Idea
In the world today there are many laws and requirements that were originally meant to help America, but in fact have ultimately did more harm to our nation. There is a law that is called Affirmative Action, which basically states that an employer with contracts with the government must take Affirmative Action to ensure that they were not discriminating on the basis of race, creed, color, or national origin. Quindlen exaggerates her point of view by saying that women do not have a fair chance in society today even with such laws as Affirmative Action (Glass Half Empty). What she doesn't realize is that the world is evolving.
Obviously, you can tell this is not a fair and just law. How can you justify giving someone a job just because of the color of a person's skin, their nationality, or even their sex, regardless of their background in the field? This law is taking away from the people that are qualified for the position. You must tell a person that has the accurate schooling, the right grades, and personality, no, just so you can make your quota of immigrants, women, and African Americans.
Quindlen tries to get her point across by using a thirteen year old girl which unknowingly said "boys don't like it when she answers in class." This is a sad attempt to try and persuade people to think that men try to oppress women even at early ages. This example is wrong. A little girl doesn't know what really goes on in the world. By the time she grows up she will understand that to get somewhere in life you must voice your opinion and not worry about what people think of you. When your thirteen, nothing makes sense but trying to be cool to your classmates.
What most women and minorities try and make people believe is that the reason 95% of management and business ownership are white males because of discrimination. This is false. What happened was, in the 1950's and 1960's when there were no women's rights and equality, white males were the one attending college and the one's working because it was unacceptable for women and minorities to get higher education and to be in the business workforce. So thirty and forty years later, the people that were getting schooled then and have been working in a business for so many years are obviously going to have management positions with higher wages. If you wait another twenty to thirty years I guaranty that women and minorities will be in the upper crust of the work force.
In conclusion, I would just like for people to understand that it takes time for change. Women and minorities cannot expect to be in the same boat as white males when the have only been a part of the workforce for ten to twenty years. They must realize that white males have been in the working class since business ownership started. They just need to give it time and they will slowly catch up.


Word Count: 512