"I have a dream: My four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character." -- Martin Luther King, Jr. In a perfect world, everyone WOULD be judged by the content of their character. But we don't live in a perfect world, and humans have always pre-judged others based on physical and cultural differences. These are the first things we notice in a stranger, and first impressions are hard to forget. Racism and prejudice have led us to make terrible mistakes in the past, but we have learned from these mistakes and improved our society. However, today's society is full of stereotypes and prejudices against people of certain races. It is evident in all aspects of our lives, including the media, culture, and even the legal system. The police are there to protect and serve the community. Racial profiling has prevented the police from serving the entire community, because in their minds it has been segregated. This has often been ignored, when in reality racial profiling has corrupted society's perception of groups of people, especially in law enforcement. On our country's highways, police, ostensibly on the lookout for thugs and criminals, regularly stop motorists based on the color of their skin. This practice is so common that the minority community has given it the derisive term, “driving while black,” a play on the real crime of “driving while intoxicated.” Profiling is unconstitutional and violates civil rights. The police can search a person without a warrant if they have a reasonable doubt that the person is armed and dangerous; However, among people stopped while driving, fewer than 4% of whites are searched, while about 10% of white people... middle of paper......talk and talk to each other at the same level, the stereotypes would not be as relevant in the legal world. Works Cited Buchanan, Patrick J. “The Beltway Sniper and the Media.” The American cause. The American Cause, 2008. Web. 16 February 2015. Driscoll, Sally and Newton, Heather. “Counterpoint: Racial profiling is discriminatory and ineffective.” Viewpoints: Racial Profiling (2011): 1-3. Ebsco. Network. February 16, 2015. Testa, Tom. “Why racial profiling is a bad idea.” About.com Inc. Civil Liberties, n.d. Web. February 16, 2015. “How Is the Criminal Justice System Racist?” Defend justice. Policy Research Associates, 2005. Web. February 16, 2015. Olson, Walter. "American Airlines lawsuit: John Cerqueira responds." Excessive lawyer. np, 2008. Web. 16 February 2015. “Racial Disparity.” The sentencing project. The Sentencing Project, nd Web. 16 February. 2015.