The problem

Dr. Martin Luther King once said, "I have a dream...that my poor little children will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."

Affirmative action is the 100% polar opposite of King's dream. Affirmative action judges individuals based only on the color of one's skin and certainly not by the content of their character, their achievements, qualifications or anything else. Affirmative action is a step backwards by justifying the very racism it was established to thwart.

There is no doubt about it: affirmative action creates discrimination. Those who argue for a color-blind society while supporting affirmative action are presenting a hypocritical belief. It appears that supporters of affirmative action are comfortable with discrimination, provided it is directed towards white men.

Opposition to affirmative action comes nowhere near supporting past policies of slavery or discrimination. Opposing affirmative action supports the very ideal that black people fought for: a fair and completely color-blind society. Do we not owe this to ourselves and our children?

The most recent affirmative action controversy stemmed from the University of Michigan policy of awarding points to a list of selected races and classifications on their admissions applications. President George W. Bush, of course, stood strongly against this policy of particularly atrocious discrimination.

A quote from Booker T. Washington, from the year 1911:
"There is a class of colored people who make a business of keeping the troubles, the wrongs, and the hardships of the negro race before the public. Some of these people do not want the negro to lose his grievances, because they do not want to lose their jobs. There is a certain class of race-problem solvers who don't want the patient to get well."

The solution

• Completely eliminate affirmative action.
• Take race off of college admissions and employment applications, which abolishes race from admissions criteria.

  » Recent Supreme Court decisions should concern Americans
  » Crash landing for affirmative action?