Back to: Contrarian PoetsVisions
The debate continues, to have affirmative action or not. While both sides rant incessantly about the various merits of their position, the real facts become buried in the emotions and political correctness. Let us take the responsibility of colleges into consideration. From there affirmative action cannot be used.
A college has but one responsibility, educate. But educate whom? Simply, they are to educate the best students. Nowhere does educate means the best students of each race, gender, etc. It means the best students period. The best students start their education in elementary school (or earlier) and learn 12 years. When a student arrives at college, it is too late to educate those who are not already educated to college freshman level. It is not the college’s fault if certain groups of students are unable to meet the admission standards because they were not properly educated when they finished high school. Let us instead focus our outcry at those who cause students to be undereducated. In many areas, grading standards have been lowered to prevent certain groups from failing at a politically incorrect rate. Why not fix the problem, instead of hiding it? There are many other factors too numerous to mention.
Think about this. Somewhere out there is a doctor, maybe yours, who falls into the category of not acceptable to medical school but accepted with affirmative action. Should that doctor practice medicine? Somewhere out there is an engineer who falls into the category of not acceptable to engineering school but accepted with affirmative action. Should that engineer design the space shuttle?
The same applies to pilots, architects, and an endless list of other professions. Those are the people who are and will be determining the fate of many of us. Whom do you want to hold your life in their hands? I submit you would not want affirmative action to apply when it is your life at stake.
Copyright © o. dell