Monday, February 5, 2007
Equality in America
A request for any and all readers: would you take a moment to share some thoughts about equality in America? We are brought up knowing that "all men are created equal" here, but what does this mean in practice in this country? I am supposed to lead a community discussion on this topic here in about a week, so I would appreciate any thoughts and perspective you would like to offer.
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5 comments:
equality in america, is a tough and thorny question. when alot of institutions were created like west point granmbling university, possibly joliard (school for women)they were set up to be separate which was probably wrong. now most of those kinds of institutions have been integrated which is a great thing but however i wonder how much integration has happened to the other side of the issue. whites going to black colleges or men going to historic womens colleges. being a part of the old white guy society and seeing those institutions go by the wayside is great but i wonder is it reverse discrimation if the black colleges are still black and the women colleges only for blacks and women. if so why??????? don't take this wrong but it white men lose there old ways and schools shouldn't the other less fortunate groups do the same. many things are still set up backwards for the formerly disinfranchised but there is no chance of that being acceptable for the old powerful white male society. one last example that comes to mind. united negro college fund. i think the differences have been overcome in the last40 years and i thought the playng field was level but what is level??? hopefully i hope none challenges that fund but i can see a legal opportunity to ask for another one for other groups like hispanics is it right or wrong because i know what the outcry would be if one suggested such a thing for united white people fund.
i think these are all good questions...i think they are born of changing definitions of equality, which suggests that if there is one dictionary definition of equality, the meaning of it in practice has evolved over time. i will put these questions to the assembled folk next Tuesday. i think a lot of what you said there boils down to whether or not society could or should legislate or attempt to mandate equality. I don't think there is one answer to that one.
one thing's for sure, I am not going to run out of issues to raise on this. i was wondering yesterday what you could really say about equality in America, and now I have about ten double-spaced pages of material!
How about corporate equality. If there were equality in the workplace, would there be a need for "the glass ceiling" and Affirmative Action?
As you mentioned to me yesterday, there is also education equality and medical equality, both which are dictated by income. Those who can afford a $95 per pill chemo treatment will certainly live longer than the people who can't.
When I first came to DC to find a job in 1980 I was in & out of so many different offices. I remember noticing that no matter which office I was in, no matter what restaurant or business, the stark reality that low level and low pay jobs were mostly Blacks and Hispanics, and the supervisory positions were Whites. I remember telling friends at the time that I couldn't believe nobody else was taking notice and making a fuss.
We don't notice what we grow up in or grow into and we don't notice what becomes a norm for us. Having lived her for years now, I still see it, but not with the same shock I did that first year. Now I see it as just part of life.
And that's not a good thing for me or for anyone I think.
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