Last week, Nick Eagle wrote a column in which he argued we should all “just be proud to be Americans.” Although Eagle’s proposal is a noble one, it is rooted in misconceptions and ignorance.
I’m not blind to the social issues that face our country and the work we must do to better this great nation.
Eagle admits that “problems still exist among races, sexual orientations” and other demographic groups. However, his proposed solution of just overlooking everything wrong with our society and pretending there are no issues is simply unrealistic. Ignoring our country’s many social problems in the name of patriotism is like putting a Band-Aid on a wound that requires stitches.
Eagle claims to love “living in a country where we are not persecuted for being who we are.” I think it’s safe to say there are many Americans wondering which country he is referring to because it certainly isn’t the U.S.
For many years, American society was rife with the marginalization and oppression of numerous communities — overt discrimination, in many instances. I won’t review this oppression in detail because the privilege of certain groups over others throughout American history is widely understood and accepted.
Although discrimination isn’t as overt as it once was, there’s no doubt that discrimination, prejudice and injustice all still exist on interpersonal, cultural and institutional levels. Millions of “proud Americans” have to deal with both the effects of discrimination occurring today and the residual effects of past discrimination. Many U.S. citizens are still fighting for their shot at the American dream, an aspiration 59 percent now believe is impossible for most to achieve.
The reason they feel that way is because instead of addressing the problems we face, many would rather ignore those issues — like addressing what is wrong would only perpetuate the ills. There is a fallacy in this thought process.
If a car has a flat tire, would you ignore it, refuse to talk about it and hope that continuing to operate the car with a flat tire would solve the problem? Of course not. Unfortunately, there are people who believe this look-the-other-way mentality is the proper way to handle our society’s problems.
Beverly Tatum, president of Spelman College, developed an apt metaphor for the status of relations in the U.S., particularly with regard to race: Imagine a moving walkway in an airport always moving in the direction of racial inequality. We are all placed on that walkway.
An overt racist is someone running along the walkway. There substantially fewer runners than there were in past years, and that is why so many choose to believe we no longer have to fight for racial justice.
Someone standing still on the walkway is still moving toward racial inequality. This reflects the fundamentally oppressive nature of the society we live in today. This is the position advocated for in Eagle’s column: overlooking all of America’s social and racial problems.
However, those in this country who are being oppressed and choose to fight against their oppression see the issue differently. They realize by accepting their fate and doing nothing, injustice is perpetuated, and their situations will never improve.
If you want to be part of the solution, you have to decide to turn around on the walkway and walk in the opposite direction — you must stand against racism and discrimination. You have to actively work against the system of racial injustice. It requires more work than standing still, but it is the only way to ever move toward a society that embodies true equality.
This principle holds for all forms of oppression, not just racism. We must address these issues and work together to battle inequality so we can all truly be proud Americans. Sitting around and waiting on things to get better on their own is not a real answer.
We must realize America’s future leaders will be those proud enough to say: “I love America, but we still have work to do.”
TehQuin Forbes is a UF sociology junior. His columns appear on Mondays.
[A version of this story ran on page 6 on 10/20/2014]
