Pull Yourself Up By Your Bootstraps, America!
The old tried-and-true American bootstrap lore took a big hit this month with a study that shows most families living with the material comfort and range of opportunities normally associated with middle-class status have obtained them the old-fashioned way: inheritance.
The report found, specifically, that:
- Attending college does not close the racial wealth gap.
- Raising children in a two-parent household does not close the racial wealth gap.
- Working full time does not close the racial wealth gap.
- Spending less does not close the racial wealth gap.
What is most sad and frustrating is knowing that exactly this knowledge — that deep down knowing the claims are bogus though they sound legitimate — is something most whites will refuse to consciously acknowledge, regardless of any evidence or data.
We will insist on our own hard work — and not systemic advantages across social and academic and financial spheres — is the only differentiating factor.
We will not acknowledge all the visible ($$$) and invisible (relationships, connections, knowledge) inheritance that has helped us stay many steps ahead and on top of people of color in our country.
This is why white women voted for Trump and not Hillary.
This is why people cheered for a slogan to make America great again.
Many Americans yearn for a time when we did not acknowledge, much less conduct research on and push for policy change, systemic and historical prejudices and problems tied to race and gender.
It is simpler to ignore issues than address them.
It is easier to ride the wave when you’re on top of it.
It is more comfortable to stay in the place you inherited in the world than to help break down the hierarchy.
But it is unconscionable.
I am not the most fortunate person in America and have not inherited great wealth, but I do have tremendous privilege and have opportunities that I have worked to take advantage of and benefitted from wonderfully because of how I look and the family I was born into and others I was later associated with.
My place in the world and the way I move through the world could be very different if things were more equal. I don’t have much (measurably) now, but I could have less, I could do less, my existence could be less easy.
I don’t believe the story that it’s a win-loss game. It’s not a game, and there doesn’t need to be a winner. No matter how many times someone screams “Loser!”, I refuse to allow the human experience, for human rights, for governing our country to be made into a game of football.
And even considering my own self-interest, I suspect and truly believe that I would be a happier human and a prouder American if we were born on a more even playing field, into a more equal society, with a reasonable standard of living for all, and the opportunity for us to sit side by side and pull ourselves up by our bootstraps each morning reaching the same distance to stand at the same height.
Sadly, I don’t think it will happen in my lifetime. But I hope I have the courage to help us get a few steps closer.
