Equal Opportunity Essay Example

Equal opportunity is a concept that advocates and emphasizes the fair distribution of chances and resources so that there is no discrimination based on any personal attributes or background. The equal opportunity calls for fairness in all resource allocations in the fields of a person's endeavor. The principle discourages discriminations by race, gender, religion, disability, sexuality and any other individual differences in the allocation and distribution of opportunities and resources. The purpose of this essay is to discuss the concept of equal opportunity with an objective of evaluating its effectiveness in the United States of America.
Gorge is rich despite his modest education and humble background. Despite the many challenges encountered, he is determined to apply the existing privileges as a white male to achieve the life's goals. He enjoys massive advantages for being a white male. For example, after failing to secure a position at the naval academy he does not give up on his dream, but instead joins the Navy to use the opportunity as a stepping stone to achieve his ambitions. He knows the rise would not end with the acquisition of the position, but rather a probability of opening further possibilities in his future.
George perceives each situation as temporary, which is the primary source of his drive as demonstrated from the start to when he becomes a millionaire. His experiences in the Navy is used as an eye opener and provide the necessary network and information to propel him to the next level. For example, during the first trip to the smooth and South China seas, he developed a different perception of the world, and he moves out of the ways to make things happen. His journey to success is fast as demonstrated at each point. He accesses opportunities by the virtue of privilege he enjoys as a white male. Though he is keen to enjoy each moment, he is aware of the fact that nothing can take the place of persistence and determination. George accesses the opportunities much faster than other persons from the marginalized groups as the system favors the white males.
Most of the women in the United States work in the service industries, such as education and hospitality whose salaries are lower compared to the male-dominated careers such as engineering and medicine. In the "rights and wrongs of women," Betsy Millar is not guaranteed a happy marriage by her position as a sea captain. Betsy's situation asserts that even when women are wealthy and from the well to do families, they still suffer gender discriminations, which in turn deny them significant opportunities in life. The number of women in senior business and policy positions is proportionately lower than that of men in all the states in the country. There is a huge discrepancy in the allocation of opportunities in all the sectors of the American society. Some marginalized individuals and groups experience discrimination due to race, religion, sexuality, disability among other unique attributes.
On the other hand, the African Americans have in the past failed to access opportunities due to racial discriminations. The African Americans in the position of the character would stand little chance to succeed. At the time, African Americans would not have acquired the opportunities to join the navy. Due to discriminations based on race, African Americans would not have accessed the lucrative shipping business as they lacked the necessary goodwill from other players in the industry. Hard work alone is not enough to make an African-American move up the ladder of success demonstrated by the character. There would be stumbling blocks at each step of the way which would deny an African American the opportunity to advance their business goals other factors notwithstanding. An African American with the quality of education possessed by the character would probably end in drug peddling or other forms of crime due to the diminished opportunities availed by the system.
The Chinese continue to be viewed as foreigners in the country and hence have been denied equal opportunity in the social, political and economic systems. They have little political representation in the Congress and the Senate, and few of them hold senior positions in the corporate world. As a minority group the Chinese have not accessed equal opportunities in the employment, education and leadership positions and therefore are marginalized in every aspect.
Equality among the Native Americans is weak, and there have been massive discrepancies in the allocation of the available resources and opportunities. The wealthy white males have substantially dominated them such that the best and most lucrative opportunities remain exclusively within groups, families and business partners in particular cliques. The consequence is that native Americans lack access to the best opportunities for education, employment and other crucial opportunities in life.
The Great Gatsby portrays Nick Carraway is a reserved young man barely in his 30s, who travels to New York to learn the art of the trade. He is a neighbor to Gatsby and also Daisy's cousin, a position that he employs to renew the love affair between the two characters. Nick is temperamental but is flexible and quite tolerant, virtues that make other characters open up to him fast. He likes fun and is attracted to the finer things in life, which captures his attention in New York. Although he is attracted to Jordan Baker, he is discouraged by her untruthfulness and low empathy. He discovers the high levels of immoralities that exist in New York despite the sophistication of the city. He goes back to Minnesota to enjoy the quiet environment comprised of high moral standards.
Nick Caraway's father says, "Whenever you feel like criticizing anyonejust remember that all the people in the world haven't had the advantages you have had". The sentiment demonstrates the fact that Nick's father is aware of the inequalities that exist in the allocation of opportunities among people of diverse backgrounds around the world. He argues that people should be criticized by the possibilities they have accessed and that it is unfair to judge anyone by their current circumstances. Individuals who have obtained particular advantages due to increased opportunities in the fields of employment, education and political positions had the benefits of the society. From the sentiments, Nick learns that he should be sensitive to his criticism as not everyone has had the opportunities that he has had in life. He also learns that some of the things that he has taken for granted could be privileged to others.
Equality of opportunity ensures that opportunities in education, politics, employment and all other sectors are solely on merit and hence the competence of an individual. The principle advocates that the allocation of an opportunity in any field should be independent of all other considerations other than factors that relate to the requirements of the possibilities. The provision of the equality ensures that every person has an equal chance in social and economic activities and that the only criteria applied in the assessment opportunity allocation are merit. All other considerations are offered a back seat so that all individuals are equal in the face of the available opportunities and circumstances. Equality of opportunity in the allocation of resources and positions ensures that all the individuals have the same chances to participate in matters that directly or indirectly concern them, while considering the general welfare of the entire communities.
The issue of equal opportunities is pertinent in the United States. Despite the continuous effort by the government to ensure equal chances for all, there are still marginalized groups such as the African Americans, Native Americans, the women and people of Asian origins. For example, the white American males hold the most prime positions across all sectors of the economy and hence earn substantially higher incomes. The white females with equal qualifications make lower wages across all the areas, which is a major concern. Most evidence shows that the African Americans have lower rates of access to quality educational institutions and hence still lack the necessary qualifications to penetrate particular positions of the American economy. For example majority of the CEOs in the financial and insurance sectors are the white males, which imply that they earn substantially higher salaries than the African American men.
Religion has also been used to deny equal opportunities to the Americans. For example, there are few Muslims that hold senior business and political positions, which mean opportunities are significantly few for members of the minority religions.
As a conclusion, the diligence and determination of a person do not necessarily guarantee success in America and other countries across the world. It is the availability of equal opportunities that determine the achievement of goals and objectives. There should be an equal opportunity in the social, political and economic spheres so that the American people can better engage their individual pursuits and enjoy their liberties as stipulated in the constitution.