Affirmative Action
Affirmative action is the practice of fighting racism with more racism. Two wrongs don't make a right.
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a hard-fought and much needed step closer to realizing the visions expressed in our Declaration of Indpependence:
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal,
that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights,
that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness."
Discrimination
Affirmative action is inherently discriminatory based on skin color, whether in business, academics, or politics. Basing admittance into any of these fields on skin color instead of merit is antithetical to the ideas fought for during the civil rights movement. One of the movement's most celebrated leaders said it best:
Meritocracy
True equality would be to embrace meritocracy, and achieve success or failure based upon merit, not what color your skin is. Of course, when white people speak up about the inherent racism of affirmative action, they are largely ignored. Perhaps this is because of some cultures perceiving white people as an oppressor, but even taking that short-sighted "sins of the father are the sins of the son" view of white people for granted we're still left with a group of "non-whites" that is also hurt by affirmative action: Asians.
Over the years, affirmative action has been argued against in courts. This issue first emerged in 1978 in Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, and more frequently in the 1990s. It's even an issue today, with the latest case Fisher v. University Of Texas At Austin decided in 2013.
If we're going to have true equality, we must base decisions on merit, not skin color. I hope that one day people will realize that no matter how much melanin your skin produces, we all bleed red.
Insulting to Minorities
Affirmative action is also insulting to minorities, because any need for it can be perceived as racist as well. Do people of color need help getting into college because they are less intelligent? Think about it, there are ugly implications that minorities are inferior if they need special help to overcome their skin color.
Doing more Harm than Good
One of the most disheartening things about affirmative action is that it seems to inspire more racism than it stops. We just had 8 years of the president's opposition referring to him as an "affirmative action president." While you could certainly argue that President Obama may have been elected because of the "white guilt" of the voters, the truth is he won the election, and won it again. I'd rather embrace the argument that he won because Republicans had horrible candidates facing him, and third parties have a snowball's chance in hell because of rules put in place by the two major parties, but I digress. The point is I've personally witnessed people claiming that minorities were only accepted to college because of their skin color, and not their intelligence. While that's not necessarily true, it's how people are perceiving the situation that matters.
Equal Opportunity
All I want for everyone is equality of opportunity. If you can prove your worth, you should be elevated based on your merits. I'm not blind to the disadvantages that many face in life, we're not all born to rich or even financially responsible parents, and that in itself can limit our opportunities. Unfortunately, you just have to play the best hand you can with the cards you are dealt. The problem with the policy of affirmative action is that it seems to strive for equality of outcome, instead of equality of opportunity. That's the real crux of the problem with it, and with laws on the books already that prohibit discrimination based on sex, religion, or skin color, affirmative action should be unnecessary. To anyone that thinks by writing this I'm racist, I'd like you to consider the words of Thomas Sowell: