Blog Stage 8: Comment on a Colleague's Work #2

In her July 30th post, The Circle of Killing Someone Who Killed Someone, Caitlin Burnette of Current Views on Government News argues against the use of capital punishment. My classmate argues that it should be eradicated because it is immoral, hypocritical, and doesn't serve justice. I fully agree with her stance on this often debated issue.

The death penalty is not only wrong but it is incredibly unproductive and expensive. Inmates can wait on death row for years after sentencing. Maintaining death row prisoners costs taxpayers $90,000 more per year than non-death row inmates. Not only is is extremely costly in the economic sense, but as Caitlin pointed out, it's not uncommon for innocent men and women to be sentenced to death. Life in prison is not only a more economical approach for taxpayers, but it leaves opportunity to undo the damage of unfair sentencing.

Caitlin's argument is extremely solid because it effectively approaches the argument from multiple angles. Her use of statistical evidence and linking to outside sources expands and credits her argument further. By bringing in the Eighth Amendment, she brings in evidence directly from our nation's founders that supports her argument that capital punishment is immoral and flat-out un-American. Finally, by pointing out the hypocrisy inherent in the death penalty, Caitlin is offering a logical reason to support an end to capital punishment, offering a plausible alternative and effectively closing the argument.

Blog Stage 7: Affirmative Action Means Equality Opportunity

On March 6, 1961, President John F. Kennedy issued Executive Order #10925, which required government contractors to take "affirmative action" to ensure that applicants are employed without regard to their "race, creed, color, or national origin." This major step toward ensuring equality in the work place was perpetuated by Kennedy's successor, President Lyndon B. Johnson. Johnson extended affirmative action's scope by banning discrimination on the basis of sex. Affirmative action as it is often debated over today refers to the policy of favoring racial minorities and women in the college application process. It is absolutely necessary today because the history of racial inequality under the law in the United States continues to negatively impact the lives of racial minorities.

It's been over 150 years since slavery was abolished under the 13th amendment, yet its roots remain prevalent in modern American society. And while the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ended legal discrimination in the United States, institutional racism is alive and well. As of 2015, the high school graduation rate for white students was 88%, and 75% for black students. An even smaller number goes on to pursue higher education. This is with affirmative action in place. The legacy of slavery and discrimination that followed it has prevented many black Americans and other racial minorities from escaping its cycle. The median household income for white Americans is nearly double that of black Americans. As of 2013, 39% of black children live in poverty. This is no coincidence, and affirmative action is an effort to break the cycle and ensure that all Americans are given an equal shot at prosperity.

By no means does being a racial or ethnic minority equal an automatic acceptance. Affirmative action allows universities to give qualified minority students an opportunity to receive an education. The legal outright discrimination against these students that has plagued our nation from its birth until the late twentieth century has prevented such an occurrence. As a white American it might be easy to point the finger and paint affirmative action as discriminatory and unfair. But in reality, all is does is give everyone an equal opportunity at achieving success and the American dream. It's in place because white Americans are already given an advantage. What's so discriminatory about that?