Equal Opportunity

Race should not be a determinant issue limiting anyone’s opportunity this day and age in this country, however; in spite of the advantages of having an advanced education, it all boils down to whom it the most well liked and best fit within the organization. Unfortunately, I've yet to see Martin Luther King's words mimicked by our society. "I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal."

i don't think people are that racist and sexist these days

The Republican mantra.

If you study your ass off in college and work smarter and harder than the people in the room, you won't be equal- you'll be the one who gets the job. In 2007, individuals should be thinking about being better educated and prepared instead of being 'equal' to someone else. . .and the government should put its energies elsewhere. . .

The EOE laws exist to create equal footing regardless of a wide variety of "differences" in what we look like, how we talk, etcetera. We're all pink in the middle, so why not give an equal shake to everyone.

For the most part, the issue of equal opportunity has been long settled. No one really questions whether all Americans should have a reasonable and equal opportunity of success. This is one reason our society provides free education, health care, etc so as everyone has a chance to pull themselves out of their conditions of birth. Nevertheless, no society can make an inherently unequal situation equal. We can only aspire for equity (which is much more complex), and equity is subject to many, sometimes conflicting, public policy concerns. Furthermore, the past and current history of this issue illustrates how much equal/equitable opportunity is subject to legal and social inertia. In the past, the law was slow to change to reflect the growing social demand for better treatment of women and minorities. Presently, as these ills have been largely eliminated, the legal tools used (eg affirmative action) are no longer necessary, and the constitutionality of same is now doubtful at best... Read more

Race should not be a factor and should not be on any applications be it for jobs, school admission, housing, etc. We should judge each person by merit, by what they have earned, or non racial factors in a specific situation. (for example, the death of the person who earned the family income) Discrimination is already against the law. Enforce the law.

Everyone in America has equal opportunity. The problem is many in the population just want things handed to them. Get a job.

We've always had affirmative action in this country. Affirmative action ABSOLUTELY isn't new. But the ACTION in this country that has been AFFIRMED has been for WHITES for over 400 years. They've owned everything,including people. All the land, horses and cattle. The right to vote, free speech and live free. Education, good jobs, fair housing...all for whites. And the ONLY qualificatioin for the PREFERENCES were..you guessed it...be born white. Now...white people HATE affirmative action. Why? Because the victims now look like them. They never cared before. They never had a problem with preferences when they were the only ones being preferred. But minorities today aren't asking for the type of affirmative action that white people had. We don't want to sell your children, blow up your churches, rape your wives, hang you from trees and own you...no this is the type of affirmative actioin that whites exercised...but minorities today only want, once qualified, to be given a fair chance to p... Read more

Everyone is born with a chance to do something great. Nobody can do everything, but everybody can so something. Every single citizen in our country deserves a fair chance to make something of themself. The most qualified person, man or woman, young or old, black or white, should get a spot in college or a job. They should not automatically be admitted because of their sex or the color of their skin, but rather by the contents of their brain.

You want true equal oppportunity? Get rid of inheritances altogether. Everyone should start on a level playing field, no matter who mommy and daddy are.

The 14th ammendment of the Constitution upholds equal opportunity for everyone regardless of race, religeon, creed and sex. The recent decision of the Supreme Court upholds the University of Michigan's law school's affitmative action policies giving preference to racial minorities. Wanna level the playing field? Anytime you submit an application or resume to any institution say that you are black. If everyone says they are black then you can't be discriminated against because of your race. If they say, "We can't let you in here because you are white." then say, "No, I ain't! Look right here. It says I'm black. Learn how to read bitch!" If you've got real ambition you can change your race like Michael Jackson did. I support the 14th ammendment.

Not currently a big political issue, so I give it a 2. Of course equal opportunity is great, but we can't enforce equal outcomes or equal happiness. People should get a fair shot, regardless of gender, race, religion, shoe size, whatever, but when PREFERENCE is added into the equation, that's the problem. I don't want "extra points" because I'm female and a minority; I want the job because I'm qualified, and if the other applicant is more qualified, then the position was not mine to have.

The government should treat every citizen exactly the same way, and stop giving favorable treatment to any special interest groups. Programs like the mis-named "Affirmative Action" only breed racism and ill-will.

Equal opportunity is extremely important because it is essential to our democracy. Are there measures in place now to aid in this cause? Yes, but still we see the ugly face of discrimination when looking at the numbers. Should the government do more? I'm not really sure, but I know that we as a society have to do more to ensure all of our childrens future.

The idea behind Equal Opportunity appears to be quite contradictory to its own title. There is nothing equal about the opportunities supported by this thought. The most qualified person is not chosen. A less qualified person is chosen due to some discrimination some other person suffered decades ago. How in the world is this equal? The sins of the fathers are visited on the children? That's correct? That's proper? What about when the tables are turned? Here in Memphis, whites are the minority and yet all the Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action is still geared towards non-whites? Where's the equality in that? The bottom line is simple: the most qualified person should win out, whether that person is black, white, or purple.

If there were no racism or sexism then equal opportunity would not be an issue. Until people realize that race and sex do not dictate intelligence or a person's character then equal opportunity will always be a problem. There are many hard-working, smart, good people who have been overlooked because of their race or their sex and that is the reason for programs like affirmative action. It would be nice if we didn't need affirmative action but if you look at the history of minorities and women in government, big business and entertainment, affirmative action and equal opportunity is neccessary. This country has come a long way but there is always room for improvement.

I believe that women are just as capable as men in doing most jobs. Granted, you probably won't see too many women wanting to operate heavy machinery and the such. Women, as a group, are America's most underappreciated human resource. There is so much talent out there that can be exploited for good. From my father's personal experience, he has found in his workplace that some women are too shy to approach an audience of board members because they are afraid of the potentially chauvinistic remarks that they will receive from them, which happens to be dominated by men. Us as men will respect a woman when she does step up to the plate. When women do step up, the results could be magnificent. Women have made great leaders of other countries. Look at Margaret Thatcher in England, one of the most influential Prime Ministers of the late 20th Century, or Indira Gandhi in India, or Golda Meir in Israel. All were great leaders with an inspirational vision for their respective countries. I think... Read more

See John. See John work for one hour. See John make $10. Now see Jane. See Jane work for one hour at the same job as John under the power of the same boss. See Jane make $7.20. Get the point? Men have been on top for so long (PLEASE, no dumb jokes about that) and their overall bigotry toward women has for the most part not changed. The same thing with blacks and homosexuals and almost all other minorities. As long as the big white manlymanis a priority and anyone who is not the big white manly man is below them and serves them, everything suits them. Keep the woman in the kitchen; keep the woman pregnant. Keep the blacks in the projects; keep them in the slave cabins. Shove the homosexuals violently off to the side. I'm sorry to say that too many men wite men these days can be described this way. As a girl, I take great offense and hope things will change. Aaaargh! Take care, everyone!

Personally, I don't think anyone should get special preference for anything just because of their race or gender. On the inside, we are all the same and we should all be treated that way.

People of all backgrounds, heritage, pecuniary situation, etc. should have an equal opportunity to succeed in the business and professional world without discrimination and there should be no advantage given to people of wealthy families and whatnot. I am all in favor of affirmitive action.

The question of equal opportuntiy has been around for hundreds of years...There has been the thing w/ African Americans as slaves...and not being able to vote....but then there has been the case of women not being treated farely...African americans had it bad by being slaves...They had to work in fields and if they tried to escape their feet would be cut off or hurt so they couldnt run...Women had it bad because the white male was the commander of everything...They had to cook clean and rarely have ne time for themselves...it took women longer to vote than it did african americans...I highly doubt that every1 will be treated farely....I mean there will alwayz be a bigger % of stronger men than women..and they will alwayz try to control women..and I know there will alwayz be prejudice people out there thinking members of the other race shouldnt do this or that...For African Americans they hav always been judged on how they look..but why can't people just forget the color of a person's s... Read more

I am all for Equal Opportunity but I am also a proponent of Equal Pursuance of Opportunity. I do not see this as a large government issue. I believe there are a few areas that need some “governmental guidance” to keep a check on grossly illegal and immoral business activities, but I don’t see the need for huge government spending and programs to ensure everyone is treated “equally”. How can you control this at the level fanatics expect. Equal pay for Equal work, great idea, just remember the work is not only the job description, it is the performance level. Regulation of age, sex, religion, and race discrimination, great idea, just remember all must be equally qualified. A young white male Caucasian and a young male minority apply for the same job to manage a team of professionals. They have identical education backgrounds and identical experience levels, but in the interview one demonstrated a very positive team work ethic the other demonstrated a very autocratic work ethic. W... Read more

For me equal opportunities doesn't only concern the different races, but also sex & in surthen ways even age. Of course the racial aspect is the most important because it's there in the world as a whole & in the USA too, we find the largest differences, discrimination, & even lack of equal rights. The US has never had a non-white president. Although the logic says three out of ten presidents SHOULD be latino, black, asian or indian, because only 69 % of the population is white. This is not casual. Who many times have a non-white won an Oscar? Not too many, that's sure. How many of the senators & parliamentarians in the House of representatives are non-white? Or even women? The US has never had a female head of state like most European countries & even some Asian ones. It's also a fact that younger people don't have the same rights as the elders. Why can't 16 year old teenagers have the right to vote when senile 80 year olds can vote? Why do you have to be 21 year old in the states to b... Read more

I don't have a problem with equal opportunity per se. Unfortunately, truly equal opportunity is not something that can be easily measured in any objective way, because people make their own opportunities, both by the degree to which they submit to training and education, and by the kind of attitude that they project in their dealings with other people. Two people with the same college degrees are not necessarily entitled to the same level of opportunity, because one person may have performed brilliantly in school, while the other only performed adequately. And even if both people are academically equal, one person may have more opportunities because he's a pleasant human being, while the other hurts his chances by being obnoxious. I think what I'm getting at is that, aside from punishing those who engage in really egregious discrimination, the law should not get too mixed up in the pseudo-scientific social engineering that is at the heart of preferential policies like Affirmative Act... Read more

No way should there be affirmative action. Let us all go into situations equal... that is fair and just!!! We should stand on our own individual merits not hide behind our race or some other ethnic cultural excuse for not being the best we can be in our own individual lives!!!