"Alexis de Tocqueville had remarked upon early in the 19th century: social equality, of a kind that would be unthinkable in any other country. Because the US did not have a rigid class system" pg 7

Well I don't know about you folks but this is an interesting perception by Conant and Chauncy (as late as WWII). If you know anything about the 1800's there were so many people facing inequity and barriers in society. African Americans, Women, Native Americans, were all ignored by the United States government therefore I find it difficult to ever think of the United States as a country with social equality at any point in its history. I do hope in the future our society can learn from this past and change it, but it seems to be a lingering flaw in American ideology.

Do you think America is any better off than any other country at this point when it comes to "social equality" or that there was ever evidence of social equity in the US?

We are better off, but we are still growing!

I think it depends on the country. Is America better off than all countries? Probably not. Some of the Scandanavian countries are quite ahead of us when it comes to social equality. We are certainly better off than we were a century or two ago. I somtimes wonder whether we are better off today than twenty or thirty years ago. I wonder if social inequality has not become more subversive. Early nineteen hundreds, it was blatant and in your face. Now, it seems to quietly go about its business of trying to keep certain classes of people "in their place."

John,
I agree it was definitely in your face back in the day...at least some people knew where they stood and there weren't all these hidden barriers like today. Kids are told today you can be anything you want to be, but is that really true?

In some ways, we are better off. The book My Forbidden Face or Francis Bok's Escape from Slavery show how other countries discriminate to a greater degree than Americans; however, discrimination is a personal thing. When you are the one receiving it, what difference does it make if you are one of a few or one of many. It is still wrong.

I believe that we are better off. We seem to be getting to a place where we can judge a person based on his or her worth as a person instead of as a white male or bkac female, or Asian etc. Seems that every generation is becoming more socially aware that we are all people. I hope that one day we can honor the words written by our fathers "We the people of the United States..." and actually mean it.

The American trek for equality for each one portrays more inequities than we want to see these days. Is it better to see the inequities and try to remediate and uphold higher ideals, like America? Or is it better to be tyrannical and oppressive and not even see the wrongs that we do?

Kami, I think America is generally better off. However, I think Americans don't reach out to help one another like they do in other countries. Instead of trying to help and offer what we have, we want to blame them for not helping themselves.

And social equity - America has never had that. I think that is something we will be working towards til the end of time.

Lisa,
You are more right than you realize. As an ESL student myself - moving to America when I was 16, I have been on the receiving end of "why are you here and you can't speak English." I am a full-fledged American citizen and went through great pains as a teenager and young adult to remove all signs of differences. Now I regret it, because I have accomplished what I set out to do and in the process have lost part of my identity and heritage. We should accept all the children who come our way whether we believe they should be here or not and most importantly whether their parents are paying taxes or not. They are here to better themselves, not to steal something we should be more than willing to share.

Stephanie,
your story makes me think of one of my students who moved here from Germany when she was young and now as a teenager tries so hard to mask any signs of an accent because she wants to be "American" when in citizenship she an American. She acts as though she can't speak or understand German anymore (but her mom says she can and does), I wonder if she will regret this approach as you have mentioned.

I feel certain she will, and to compound the problem, I have robbed my own children of a gift that was free for the taking. Isn't it amazing the things we will do in order to fit in? The divide is not socio-economic in this particular case, it is wanting to be a part of the whole at all costs.

Social and cultural identity is not necessarily bad but placing a value on it to make it better then others is what I see happening in some schools. This is a currency the students use to buy themselves into a certain social structure.

Jeremiah.. i agree these kids are definitely learning that certain characteristics are going to socially promote them (just like on the video with Tammy's son he knew what he wanted people to see in him in order to elevate himself) But at what price are these kids trying to obtain this mobility? It seems like everywhere in society it is reinforced whether through TV, Parents, Magazines, or even the "megaparties" I guess.
What can be done to change it?

Jeremiah.. i agree these kids are definitely learning that certain characteristics are going to socially promote them (just like on the video with Tammy's son he knew what he wanted people to see in him in order to elevate himself) But at what price are these kids trying to obtain this mobility? It seems like everywhere in society it is reinforced whether through TV, Parents, Magazines, or even the "megaparties" I guess.
What can be done to change it?