Letter to the Editor: Despite Talk of Meritocracy, America Is Not a Level Playing Field

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In her letter on June 24, writer Josie Johnston seems to imply that America's problem with race is in the past. COVID-19 clearly showed there are still vast racial inequities built into our systems. Despite talk of meritocracy, America is not a level playing field.

White America outpaces Black America in 2021 at about a 10:1 ratio when it comes to generational wealth. That is a present day legacy of systemic racism; of substandard or no education, of housing red-lining, of less health care and less services of all kinds. Despite the World War II contribution of the Code Talkers, 40% of homes on the Navajo Reservation today lack running water or sanitation. In 2017, Flint, Michigan, a predominantly Black city, had very high levels of lead in their water supply and it took journalists to bring that to light. The Republican governor and legislature treated the problem very casually at first and lied about  their knowledge of it. Would they have been so cavalier if Flint was a largely white community?

Johnston says the truth of history can never really be known. That there are no objective facts. That is a slander against our many contemporary, highly professional history writers. I think a factual assessment of historical events can be made.

Good writers triangulate witness statements, historical accounts and documentation when available. If one believes there are no objective facts, a person is thoroughly vulnerable to going down any conspiracy theory rabbit hole. I am sure Q of QAnon notoriety would be pleased to agree with Johnston.

No other figure in American history has ridden the "there are no objective facts" clown car as far as Donald Trump. From "climate change is a hoax" to " coronavirus is a hoax, " Trump, like every other cult leader, first endeavored to destroy objective facts. It is then that they can substitute their own propaganda, always placing themselves at the center of power. Now he has 80% of the Republican Party believing there was massive election fraud in 2020 for which there is zero evidence.

If Johnston believes that treating or looking at one group of Americans differently from another is un-American or un-patriotic I would agree with her. If she believes that is all past tense or there are just a few bad actors, she is seriously mistaken.

If that were true George Floyd would be alive today. So would Philando Castile. So would Trayvon Martin. So would Ahmed Arbery. There would be no anti-Asian, pandemic-inspired rhetoric by Trump. The list is a very long one.



No child should be made to feel bad about themselves. Ever. But I am old enough to recall small Black children being cursed at, called racial slurs and being spat upon by white adults in the early days of school integration and bussing, an attempt to help level the playing field. I do not remember any right wing outrage over their torment.

As far as I know, critical race theory is taught in postgraduate university courses, not in K-12. By junior and senior high though, kids can and should be taught that the 14th amendment — equal protection under the law — is something we strive for but we are not there yet. I was taught that in the 1950s and 60s in Puyallup schools. 

Hopefully, someday, we will get there.

 

Marty Ansley

Cinebar