Affirmative Action Essay example -- essays research papers

Affirmative action is the nation’s most ambitious attempt to redress its long history of racial and sexual discrimination, however in modern times and approximately forty years after the establishment of this policy, society is plagued with the issues of whether affirmative action is necessary, whether it is a benefit or detriment to society, and why it incites rather then eases the nation’s internal dilemmas after so many years of having been in effect. In the following paragraphs the issues surrounding this debate, such as what is the definition of affirmative action, how and why affirmative action was established to begin with, who is affected by this policy, whether affirmative action is still necessary in today’s society or if such policy should be done away with, and, finally, possible resolutions to this dilemma, will be reviewed, beginning with the explanation of how affirmative action came about. In March l96I, less than two months after President John F. Kennedy took office, he issued an Executive Order (10925), which established the President's Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity. Its mission was to end discrimination in employment by the government and its contractors. The order required every federal contract to include the pledge that "The Contractor will not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, creed, color, or national origin. The Contractor will take affirmative action, to ensure that applicants are employed, and that employees are treated during employment, without regard to their race, creed, color, or national origin." (QUOTE) Here for the first time the government called for "affirmative action." Soon, thereafter the Civil Rights Act of 1964 restated and broadened the application of this principle with the Title VI, which declared that "No person in the United States shall, on the ground Or r ace, color or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance." But within one year President Lyndon B. Johnson argued that fairness required more than a commitment to impartial treatment. In his 1965 commencement address at Howard University, he said: "You do not take a person who for years has been hobbled by chains and liberate him... ...us attempt to redress its long history of racial and sexual discrimination, however in modern times and approximately forty years after the establishment of this policy, society is plagued with the issues of whether affirmative action is necessary, whether it is a benefit or detriment to society, and why it incites rather then eases the nation’s internal dilemmas after so many years of having been in effect. In the following paragraphs the issues surrounding this debate, such as what is the definition of affirmative action, how and why affirmative action was established to begin with, who is affected by this policy, whether affirmative action is still necessary in today’s society or if such policy should be done away with, and, finally, possible resolutions to this dilemma. Affirmative Action is the bridge between changing the laws and changing the culture. The radical right wing would have us believe that women and people of color earn less because we don't work as hard or we're not as smart. That simply isn't the case. Laws have changed, but discrimination persists. Affirmative Action only opens doors, women and people of color have to walk through those doors by themselves. Affirmative Action Essay example -- essays research papers Affirmative action is the nation’s most ambitious attempt to redress its long history of racial and sexual discrimination, however in modern times and approximately forty years after the establishment of this policy, society is plagued with the issues of whether affirmative action is necessary, whether it is a benefit or detriment to society, and why it incites rather then eases the nation’s internal dilemmas after so many years of having been in effect. In the following paragraphs the issues surrounding this debate, such as what is the definition of affirmative action, how and why affirmative action was established to begin with, who is affected by this policy, whether affirmative action is still necessary in today’s society or if such policy should be done away with, and, finally, possible resolutions to this dilemma, will be reviewed, beginning with the explanation of how affirmative action came about. In March l96I, less than two months after President John F. Kennedy took office, he issued an Executive Order (10925), which established the President's Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity. Its mission was to end discrimination in employment by the government and its contractors. The order required every federal contract to include the pledge that "The Contractor will not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, creed, color, or national origin. The Contractor will take affirmative action, to ensure that applicants are employed, and that employees are treated during employment, without regard to their race, creed, color, or national origin." (QUOTE) Here for the first time the government called for "affirmative action." Soon, thereafter the Civil Rights Act of 1964 restated and broadened the application of this principle with the Title VI, which declared that "No person in the United States shall, on the ground Or r ace, color or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance." But within one year President Lyndon B. Johnson argued that fairness required more than a commitment to impartial treatment. In his 1965 commencement address at Howard University, he said: "You do not take a person who for years has been hobbled by chains and liberate him... ...us attempt to redress its long history of racial and sexual discrimination, however in modern times and approximately forty years after the establishment of this policy, society is plagued with the issues of whether affirmative action is necessary, whether it is a benefit or detriment to society, and why it incites rather then eases the nation’s internal dilemmas after so many years of having been in effect. In the following paragraphs the issues surrounding this debate, such as what is the definition of affirmative action, how and why affirmative action was established to begin with, who is affected by this policy, whether affirmative action is still necessary in today’s society or if such policy should be done away with, and, finally, possible resolutions to this dilemma. Affirmative Action is the bridge between changing the laws and changing the culture. The radical right wing would have us believe that women and people of color earn less because we don't work as hard or we're not as smart. That simply isn't the case. Laws have changed, but discrimination persists. Affirmative Action only opens doors, women and people of color have to walk through those doors by themselves.

A Streetcar Named Desire/as I Lay Dying Essay

This proves that the main characters of A Streetcar Named Desire and As I Lay Dying are very similar because they both experience tragedy and are affected by such. In the play A Streetcar Named Desire, by Tennessee Williams, one of the main characters, Blanch DuBois, is portrayed as the typical rich southern belle who fell down on her luck. The other characters, specifically her brother in-law, dislike her â€Å"hoity-toity† mannerisms and the fact that she has an aura of self-righteousness. After her past is revealed, the reader is aware of the reasons for her actions. Her pain lies behind the death of the one man she ever loved and the guilt that she feels for his suicide. This tragedy causes her to be more aware of her looks and it drives her insane to the point where the music from that night constantly plays in her head. She is now more perceptive but the other characters do not appreciate her actions. In the novel As I Lay Dying, by William Faulkner, one of the main characters, Darl Bundren, is also disliked because of his actions. Darl is the most perceptive of his southern family and he recognizes things that the others of his time would never understand. After the death of his mother Darl is broken especially since he knows that his mother did not love him as much as she loved his brother. Even though this was true Darl still loved his mother and set the barn on fire where she was in her casket. His family members saw this and were instantly appalled by it. Only Darl would see this as a way of cleansing the family after keeping her body for days post mortem. Both Darl and Blanche are looked down upon but no one truly understands the reasons for their ways. This causes a great repercussion that changes their lives forever. Even though Blanche is dealing with the suicide of her only love and her attempts to find love in all of the wrong places, she still notices when her brother-in-law is being abusive and when her sister should attempt to find a way out. As well as being perceptive, Darl is also a genius who notices things that others would not even if he did attempt to set his mother’s dead body on fire. The fact that these two are so misconstrued and later thrown into a mental asylum shows how similar they are. During this time period a mental asylum was the cure for everything but it was not what the two of them needed. They share a similar story in which a person who had to deal with problems on their own was immediately thrown into an â€Å"asylum† that really would not help them at all. Dealing with the death of a loved one, either a boyfriend or a parent is hard enough but having to deal with the pressures of a severe society makes the transition even harder. In conclusion Darl Bundren and Blanch DuBois were similar because they both did not have the opportunity to communicate their feelings to others in a healthy way. When society could not handle their dissimilarities they were immediately thrown to the wayside. This shows how during this time there was very little acceptance from the entire society of our nations. When looking at today’s society and the society of the early 20th century the differences are staggering. Darl and Blanch would have had the chance to lead a normal life only if they had lived today. It is hard to watch brilliant minds being thrown away.

The Threat Of Global Warming - 1816 Words

Humanity’s Biggest Threat Recently, the issue about climate change has been on and off the news headlines. The debate whether if global warming is real or hoax is gradually getting more attention to the public. Global warming is defined as phenomenon that causes global average temperature to rise in a steady rate.While many people speculate that global warming is a temporary issue that won’t be a serious issue after a while, scientific data point out that it could be a big threat to the world and humans are mostly responsible for it. For example since the beginning of the industrial revolution age,many big businesses have indiscriminately exploited the natural resources for their profit. The world needs to acknowledge that global warming†¦show more content†¦However it existed from the beginning of the earth’s history. According to EPA’s recently published document â€Å"Causes of Climate Change†, â€Å" Earth s temperature depends on the balance between energy entering a nd leaving the planet’s system. In the past before the industrial revolution, global warming existed in Earth naturally. Natural emission of greenhouse gases, volcanic eruptions,and solar activity rather played a major role in increasing temperature in earth. During that time period, global warming was an earth’s balancing activity to keep the temperature moderate so that it would maintain a habitable environment to animals. While global warming in the past occurred naturally,the recent global warming is quite different. The problem with the recent global warming is that effect of warming has got to the point where it can’t be defined as a phenomenon that keeps livable nature. The balance between nature and the growth of civilization was interrupted by mass consumption of energy from developed and developing countries. While natural activity was a major cause of global warming back then, the recent circumstance can be explained not only from environment but also from human exploitation of environmental resources along with unrestraint energy policy around the developed countries and cities. When many environmentalists mention about environmental problems, greenhouse effect is a popular topic that is seems to be playing an essential role that causes problem.In