Affirmative Action

Thomas Jefferson did not mean to include all men when he wrote that "all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." However, today's educators struggle to ensure that American citizens of all backgrounds have equal opportunity to succeed. The Chicago Public School boycott that occurred at the beginning of this year brought disparities in school funding into question. While New Trier spent almost $17,000 per student in the 2006-2006 school year, CPS spent an estimated $10,400 per pupil. This enormous difference makes it very clear that students who live in more privileged areas are receiving better educations, and therefore have more opportunities to succeed.
Neither John McCain nor Barak Obama seem to be enthused with today's affirmative action programs. McCain supports an effort to get a referendum on the ballot in Arizona that would do away with affirmative action. Obama, while not against affirmative action programs, says they are not a solution to long-term race issues because "frankly, if you've got 50 percent of African American or Latino kids dropping out of high school, it doesn't really matter what you do in terms of affirmative action. Those kids are not getting into college." America is not, by any means, a meritocracy. Because the education the wealthy are receiving is so much better than that of many minorities living in poorer areas, America's wealthy are at a huge advantage. Something needs to be done in order to level the playing field and give all citizens equal rights to the pursuit of happiness.