Asian Americans have faced from 1965 to today - Essay Example

Major Problems That Asian Americans Have Faced From 1965 to Today Critics indicate that the affirmative action introduced in 1965 is a failed effort in social engineering and that it discriminates both the whites (in particular the white men) and the Asian Americans. Asian Americans have conflicting views about whether the affirmative action is helpful or not. Majority of the Asian Americans support the affirmative action because they believe it will counter continued racial discrimination against the Asians.

However, the attainment of high levels of education and the increasing social mobility of most Asians have not alleviated racial discrimination in both promotions and hiring. They also believe that the affirmative action has affected them in a negative way in regard to admissions to the best universities. For instance, in 1978, the United States Supreme Court gave a ruling that stated that the universities could consider the student’s race during admissions. Majority of the universities adopted this diversity policy in order to attain a student body that was more diverse.

However, this diversity policy led to the admission of fewer Asian Americans into universities (Lee 33).Participation in politics is also another issue or problem faced by the Asian Americans. They have attempted to participate in politics in many ways and one of them is through donating money. However, the donations have been viewed as means through which the Asians are attempting to influence Americans politics to their benefits. For instance, in 1996, the Democratic Party was looking for funds for the reelection of President Clinton.

Much later the Democrats were blamed for illegally accepting money from the foreigners; these foreigners as identified by the Congressional Republicans and the media were Asians. From this scenario, it is evident that the Asian Americans affected by racial profiling and prejudice regardless of their political affiliations. Their attempts to succeed both in the political and civic leadership are met with strong allegations that they have evil plans to dominate the world (Le 1).Another issue facing the Asians Americans is the great disparity in terms of socioeconomic status, occupation, and education among the subgroups.

Some of the Asian subgroups like the Cambodians and the Laotians do not possess a high school diploma. Previously, education has been linked to high-income levels and professional skills but it is also linked to access to health care services. Majority of the Asian Americans are either poor or working for minimum wage and they have no access to specialized or preventive care. Consequently, high levels of preventable diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer, and their associated complications and the death rates related to these diseases weigh down the Asian American population.

This is attributed to the fact that the Asian American population is growing at a rapid rate. In the total United States population, Asian Americans make up approximately 5 percent. The increase in the Asian American population has been significant in the past three decades; in particular, after the passing of the Immigrant Act of 1965 (Chen 264). Works Cited“Participating in Politics.” Asian-Nation: The Landscape of Asian America. Le, C. N., 2011. Web. 7 Dec. 2011.Chen, Edith. W. Encyclopedia of Asian Americans Issues Today, Volume 1.

Santa, Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2010. Print.Lee, Sharon, M. “Asian Americans: Diverse And Growing.” Population Bulletin 53.2 (1998): 1-44. Print.