Affirmative Action is Harmful to Society Essay -- Synthesis Essays, Ar

     Ã‚  Ã‚   In the controversial realms of affirmative action, the largest issue staunchly fought over is whether minorities should be given preferential treatment in the workplace and in the schools. One side declares that those in the minority group need and deserve governmental aid so that they will be on equal footing with the majority group. Opponents of affirmative action point out that setting apart groups based on their race or ethnicity is purely racism and can lead to reverse discrimination. I am against affirmative action for the aforementioned reasons, and would not consider such racism as necessary for creating a healthy society, as proponents would insist. It is my belief that affirmative action today is out of date and is inherently harmful to society. Affirmative action supporter Stephen Steinberg, in his essay The Affirmative Action Debate, argued that equality in society is not possible without governmental intervention and aid. He asserts "the problem is stated falsely when it is suggested that we must choose between merit or preference, or between the rights of individuals and the rights of groups, or between a color-blind or color-conscious society" (363). Yet while he said that, he supported the very issues he is adamant against by favoring affirmative action. Earlier in his essay he describes the history of affirmative action in the workplace from equal rights for all, to reaching out to select certain minority groups for employment, and to preferential treatment of minorities (360). Of these three, the only one I can fully and strongly support is the first. When I look at all the aspects of this issue I wonder if we have failed to focus on the correct issue. Affirmative action's purpose claims to be t... ...Society." Ed. Bryan J. Grapes. San Diego: Greenhaven. 2000. 38-46. Gelles, Richard J., and Ann Levine. Sociology: An Introduction. San Francisco: McGraw-Hill College, 1999. Kristol, Irving. "The Tragic Error of Affirmative Action." Wall Street Journal 1 Aug. 1994. Rpt. in Interracial America: Opposing Viewpoints as "Affirmative Action is Reverse Discrimination." Ed. Bonnie Szumski. San Diego: Greenhaven. 1996. 144-48. Silverstein, Shel. Where the Sidewalk Ends. San Francisco: Harper, 1974. Steele, Shelby. "Social Evils." The New York Times 13 Mar. 1994. Rpt. in Interracial America: Opposing Viewpoints. Ed. Bonnie Szumski. San Diego: Greenhaven. 1996. 175. Steinberg, Stephen. "The Affirmative Action Debate." The UNESCO Courier Mar. 1996. Rpt. in Essays from Contemporary Culture. 4th ed. Ed. Katherine Anne Ackley. San Diego: Harcourt. 2001. 359-63.

What Are Obama’s Possible Solutions to This Economic Crisis We Are Going Through and How Long to Until This Goal Is Achieved?

Barack Obama â€Å"Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek. † These are some words from President-Elect Barack Obama talking about that Americans have the power to the change they have been longing for in their government. Barack Obama was born in August 4, 1961 in Honolulu, Hawaii. Obama attended Occidental College in Los Angeles from 1979 to 1981 before transferring to Columbia University and graduating with a bachelor’s degree in political science. He also received a degree from Harvard Law School in 1991. In February 2007 he announced that he would be running for president and 18 months later he became the Democratic presidential nominee. At the end of Election Day, Obama won a decisive victory over McCain with 365 electoral votes to McCain’s 162. Obama marks a change in America’s conventional trend of white American presidents and is the leader in Americas 4 year journey for change. He has a long road full of challenging issues to overcome. One very important issue to the majority of Americans is â€Å"What are Obama’s possible solutions to this economic crisis we are going through and how long to until this goal is achieved† To answer this question I researched Obama’s economic policies to improve this crisis as President and they include jumpstarting the economy, providing the middle class with tax reliefs, and improving conditions for small businesses. One of Barack Obama’s first polices to improve the economy will be to jumpstart the economy in two ways. One will be to â€Å"enact a windfall profits tax to provide a $1000 emergency energy rebate to American families. †(barackobama. com), taken directly from Obama’s website on his economic policies. This would be good because it can help families pay some money in their rising bills and reduce some of it. Secondly Obama is going to provide a â€Å"$50 billion of stimulus to jumpstart job creation and help local communities that are struggling due to our economic downturn. †(Video of Obama’s economic â€Å"Blue Print†) This is a primary source coming straight from the source. On his website it states that $25 billion is to prevent state and local cuts and the other $25 billion to prevent cutbacks in road and bridge maintenance and fund school repair. This can help less fortunate communities with local problems to jumpstart their economic problems and improve repairs on important buildings in the neighborhood. In addition, he wants to provide middle class Americans tax relief because the majority of America consists of middle class necessary to stabilize it. He proposes that â€Å"If you make 250,000 or less we will not raise your taxes, we will cut your taxes; in fact my plan provides 3 times the amount of tax relief to middle class families than John McCain’s†¦ † (Video of Obama’s economic â€Å"Blue Print†) He also says â€Å"I will cut taxes – cut taxes – for 95% of all working families† (Speech confronting the economic crisis in Golden, Co) Also on his website â€Å"they will create a new â€Å"Making Work Pay† tax credit of up to $500 per person, or $1,000 per working family†. The â€Å"Making Work Pay† tax credit will also eliminate income tax for 10 million Americans. Moreover, Obama will eliminate income taxes completely for seniors making less than $50,000. It will eliminate income tax for about 7 million seniors and save them an average of $1400 a year (http://www. barackobama. com/issues/economy). Some 27 million seniors will not need to file an income tax return. Furthermore Obama said â€Å"To help low- and middle-income families, I will ease the burden on struggling homeowners through a universal homeowner's tax credit. (Speech confronting the economic crisis in Golden, Co) He continues to explain that it will â€Å"add up to a 10 percent break off the mortgage interest rate for 10 million households†. This will add another $500 each year for many families. Likewise, Obama supports and wants to improve the conditions of small businesses because they are the base to this economy. Barack Obama is choosing his economic experts to advis e him â€Å"on ways to create jobs and bring stability to the ailing financial system† (Fouhy and Espo). Fouhy and Espo are Associated Press writers therefore are reliable because they write without any bias. To do this Obama wishes to eliminate all capita per gain taxes on start-up companies to encourage innovation and job creation. Obama emphasizes the importance of investing â€Å"$15 billion a year in new green technologies that can create up to 5 million jobs a year† (Video of Obama’s economic â€Å"Blue Print†) Obama continues saying that we must rebuild the economy with clean energy that will open new job opportunities to young people and that we are going to create the new cars of the future â€Å"right here in America†. In addition, he proposes to create a national network of public-private business incubators to support entrepreneurship and spur job growth. These incubators â€Å"facilitate the critical work of entrepreneurs in creating start-up companies. † In Obama’s plan, he will invest in $250 million a year in the amount of incubators for less fortunate communities who need it the most. Basically, Obama wants to repair the base of America’s economy by jumpstarting it, providing tax relief to the middle class, and improving conditions for small businesses. It is hard to remember a time when America’s economy was prosperous and stable. Many countries have never even seen a time in history when their own nation was a leading competitor in the world’s economy. With Obama’s economic plans for America, that time is near and getting closer every day. At time when this great nation we know as America will strive economically and will lead the world into a world of equality and peace. â€Å"At this moment, in this election, we must pledge once more to march into the future. Let us keep that promise, that American promise, and in the words of scripture hold firmly, without wavering, to the hope that we confess. † Word Count:1002

Othello and Iago Comparison Essay - 553 Words

Othello and Iago Comparison Othello and Iago are different in their characters as well as in their colours. It could be said also, however, that they are similar because of their fallibility. Iago is overcome with his desire for revenge to such an extent that he puts it into action. Othellos love and possessiveness of Desdemona take over him until he eventually would rather kill her than allow anyone else to have her. In this way, despite their contrasts, Iago and Othello both represent the extremity of the same thing - human emotion. Both characters can be viewed like this throughout Act 1. We immediately see Iago as representative of the very basest elements of humanity. He uses crude†¦show more content†¦Another grudge is his suspicion of Othello that twixt my sheets he has done my office Iago has heard a rumour that Othello has slept with his wife, and now he wants revenge. But Iago does not feel betrayal by his wife, or feel that she has been wronged; it appears to be just another excuse to get back at Othello. Whereas Othello does have a sense of self-interest, his interest in other peoples happiness is greater. When confronted with the idea that he has enchanted Desdemona, he replies that if it is true to let your sentence fall even to my life. He would rather be killed than know he is causing his love unhappiness. He would happily sacrifice everything for others - his sense of duty is strong. Whereas Iago is in the army for personal gain, promotion and recognition, Othello is in it for the greater good. Despite being on his honeymoon, he instantly agrees that he should go and fight in Cyprus for his Senate. Neither does he wish his wife to suffer, so he offers her a choice of following him or staying in safety. Othello is an honourable man. Iago, on the other hand, is anything but honourable. He is always forming a devious plot for someone elses undoing. He uses Roderigo as his pawn in revealing Othellos whereabouts and as a source of money. The way he disappears into the shadows away from Brabantios lights is symbolic of his underhand nature.Show MoreRelated The Use Of Animal Imagery In Othello Essay1040 Words   |  5 Pages In William Shakespeare’s play â€Å"Othello† the use of animal imagery was evident throughout the telling of the story. Shakespeare explained several characters actions by comparing them to similarities in animals. The characters in â€Å"Othello† were often depicted as having animal-like characteristics. Some characters were even compared to animals by other characters in the play. By defining characters in terms of these characteristics one can get a clear description of what the character isRead MoreConventions of a Shakespeare Tragedy1189 Words   |  5 Pagestragic flaw brings the downfall of the hero. 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