Affirmative action, as we know it, has served its original purpose; without review, it will ultimately perpetuate the racism and oppression it was designed to destroy. The original purpose of Affirmative Action is to provide special consideration to qualified and underrepresented women and minorities in education, employment, and contract awarding to offset historical and institutional racism, discrimination, and oppression of white men.

Even though the face value of this policy seems to provide women and minorities with a long-time short cut in the line of opportunity on the road to their dreams; it is really an illusion of justice that makes them forget and overlook who owns the amusement park in the first place. Affirmative Action should not focus on shortcuts the underrepresented populations at the front of the line, but rather provide them with the psychological and educational tools that will allow them to design their own attractions and build their own amusement park.

The current Affirmative Action policy is punitive in nature because it suggests that all white men are powerful and wealthy racists who oppress women and minorities. And if they do not personally have these characteristics, some white male of their family lineage had them or will have them in the future for which they should be punished with exclusion. This policy also assumes that simply because you are a white male, you are automatically intellectually and financially superior to women and minorities. Furthermore, everything he wants will come easily to him without hard work, struggle, and sacrifice because other white men in dominant positions eagerly await to anoint all his desires.

This may be true for a small percentage of white men, but I believe that most people, regardless of race or gender, have worked very hard to achieve their goals and dreams. The key to success for white men is not that someone gave them the answers to the law school or college entrance exams, but that they share the same work ethic, identity, and level of self-esteem as the people who wrote the exams. .

One billion years from today, American slavery and the annihilation of Native Americans will still have taken place in America. How many years, decades, or centuries must pass before white men are justly punished for the sins of their parents? How will we scientifically measure whether or not they have been sufficiently punished for their father’s sins? Will we measure it by the success of women and minorities compared to white men? Or by the percentage of white men who fail in areas where they previously succeeded? Based on current conditions in American society, Affirmative Action does not create a cohesive, cooperative American culture that unites its citizens; but one who is divisive and refuses to learn from the past and most importantly to learn to forgive.

Affirmative Action must be a policy that affirms authentic beauty across all races, religions, ethnic groups, and genders to ensure that all qualified applicants, including white males, have equal opportunities based on a “rotation system.” that reflects racial and cultural diversity. In America.

The reason we need some kind of Affirmative Action policy is because it is human nature for people to associate with people who think, act, feel and behave like themselves. Look at your friends, (do not include sex of any kind) how many real friends, not co-workers or colleagues who come to your house for social activities or lunch on occasion, do you have to be of a different race or religion and do not share your belief system? Most people have close friends who are the same race as them. There is nothing wrong with having the majority of friends in your personal life who look and think like you; However, in a culturally diverse society like the United States, it is essential to our well-being that we have a policy that overcomes social and cultural constraints and personal preferences that create a workforce and an educational system that celebrates, cultivates, and respects cultural diversity. .

I believe that Affirmative Action should focus on alleviating the conditions that create or contribute to racism and discrimination as follows:

1. We must establish a cultural diversity committee representing all major education, employment and policy systems and departments to develop rotating hiring and acceptance criteria that include all races and genders (including white males).

2. The United States should declare an official language. Even if it is Spanish or French, I am willing to learn it. One of the reasons Native Americans and Africans in the slave trade were unsuccessful in defending themselves is because they spoke over 100 (some sources say over 1000) different languages ​​living in close proximity to each other. Because they couldn’t communicate with each other, they couldn’t plan, vote, or organize as an effective community, much less as a defense army. The reality is subjective. Language gives people the tools to see, understand and respect the point of view of others.

3. To develop self-esteem and self-esteem in all ethnic groups, we must establish a committee that includes members of all ethnic groups and genders to oversee that all public school textbooks objectively include contributions from all races and genres for everyone. themes and theories. Freud, Jung, Skinner, and Watson are not the only people contributing to the field of psychology. For example, each textbook should include theories from Asian, Hispanic, Arab, White, and African psychologists, both male and female. When students see the contributions and success of people who look like themselves, as well as others, they will learn that success and intelligence is not a physical characteristic of being white or male, but who you are on the inside.

4. There is no such thing as a white person. All people have culture, traditions and heritages. How can you respect the differences in another person when you cannot see and respect the unique differences and beauty within yourself?

5. History must be taught objectively and truthfully so that people learn that being a victim or a hero is not related to skin color, but to internal integrity and dignity. African Americans should be taught that one of the reasons the slave trade in America was so successful was because many (not all) African leaders captured and sold their own people as slaves. Europeans were unfamiliar with the continent and would not have been so successful without the cooperation of native Africans. Whites need to know that there were many whites who fought against slavery and lost everything, including their lives and families, because they felt that slavery was bad. Not all by any means, but it is documented that many Native Americans were successful paid slave hunters because they were more familiar with the land. Learning that all ethnic groups are capable of choosing to do right or wrong will teach people that it is not the color of their skin that determines their success in life, but the choices they make.