Affirmative Action

The fact that Obama is now president makes clear that affirmative action is no longer relevant. It shows that those who are of color or ethnicity dont lag behind the rest. If you have the drive to succeed then that is all that matters. President Barack Obama came from a poor family but he succeeded without getting special assistance because of his color. He was able to succeed so why can't the rest of us. By saying that people of color need assistance to get by and giving them an advantage over everyone else just because of their ethnicity and place in society, it causes 3 significant problems. First of all, it makes them feel like they are less than everyone else who can exist without the help and survive on their own. Secondly, if people feel as if they have something to fall back on then they wont necessarily succeed and try their hardest. If they are insured that they won't end up on the streets without money then they won't try so hard because the risk of failure isn't as high as it would be without assistance. And lastly, by giving special assistance to those who supposedly need it, we are taking away from the others that might be more deserving. What I am referring to in this matter is school acceptance. If a school has some sort of quota to fill that means that they will fill up each quota with the best students within each ethnicity range. But if there is a white person that is better qualified for the position in the school they would loose out on the spot if all of the spots for white people were already filled. So there could be a hispanic of black student who isn't as qualified as the white student but they do get into the school because the quota for their racial group has yet to be filled. If we continue on like this then opportunities will be take away from those who truly want them. Race is not something we can control. We weren't born with a decision of what color skin we have. So why should we be compensated for something that we were born with and didn't even choose ourselves. Those who make successful and wise decisions to try hard in school and excel in all parts of their lives, those are the people that should be accepted into schools and receive benefits in life, regardless of race or financial situation.