Inequalities in the United States
The lack of equality can be seen everywhere in today’s world including the United States.
These differences vastly affect people in a negative manner and in their everyday lifestyles. The people who are not affected by these inequalities many times do not realize that they are present or sometimes they even down play the vast impact that these inequalities have on a person’s life.
For example, many inequalities are seen with the immigrant community. People who often arrive from impoverished countries in search of the American dream. Most immigrants do not obtain an education in their impoverished countries and end up in low-skill low-paying jobs. Consequently, there is a vast amount of financial inequalities among the immigrant community. Many of these immigrants’ end of living in areas with a high crime rate because of the lower cost of rental prices in these areas. Further, these areas tend to have lower- educational opportunities because there is less money going into these schools and there is a lower accountability of the teachers because most parents are too preoccupied working 1 or 2 full time jobs. The lower educational opportunities create a vicious cycle in which it is more likely that the children of immigrants will end up in low paying jobs. These are unfair opportunities that are immensely different than the children of wealthy families whose families have perhaps been here for centuries and live in wealthy areas with the best schools.
America, often seen as the nation built by immigrants and that welcomes immigrants is unfortunately becoming more and more anti-immigrant. Some say that this is a result of an openly anti-immigrant and racist president. Since the beginning of his campaign, the current president attacked immigrants as criminals and even recently referred to them as “animals”. He has dehumanized immigrants openly creating a feeling that it is acceptable to be racist in America and to treat immigrants like “animals”.
My parents and siblings are immigrants from Mexico and the commentary made by this president has profoundly saddened us. America has always been perceived as the nation of tolerance and the nation of equality and were the American dream is possible no matter your religious, social, or economic background. A nation that welcomes all people of all nations. This president is slowly shattering this image of America that the entire world has had for so many decades now. Our family has always felt at home here, and the commentary by the president makes us feel unwelcomed. It makes us feel uncertain, unsafe, like perhaps we will also be locked into camps as the Japanese-Americans were after pearl harbor. Unfortunately, these feelings of intolerance also create social inequalities.
Since the election and now during his term as president, this president has continued to utter his anti-immigrant slurs in public and in his presidential orders. Through his many tweets and speeches, it is clear that this president is a racist and is anti-immigrant. For example, his speech following the white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia in which he appeared to justify and defend that violent actions of the white supremacists. Further, during the recent firing of Roseanne’s show on ABC because of her racist remarks, Trump appears to attack ABC instead of attacking Roseanne’s comments. These type of actions and comments on behalf of our president are a clear disgrace to our nation. Many foreigners come to the United States to seek a better life leaving behind their families, countries, and everything they have ever known in search of a better future. It is tragic that the conditions for them in the Unites States appear to be worsening instead of improving.
There is also wide economic inequality in the United States. There is a large gap between the low-income earners and high-income earners. The richer are getting richer, and the poorer are getting poorer. This is a result many times of were the person lives. As was previously mentioned, there is inequality in education opportunities. Further, this is also a product of our lawmakers. For example, the recent law that passed through congress that gave tax cuts to the rich. Further, lawmakers are thought to be mostly chosen by the rich due to their large financial contributions to campaigns. Unfortunately, our lawmakers are becoming more so selected by campaign contributions rather than by the people.
There are still many inequalities present today. People have different advantages than others within their lives. These advantages can be connections, labor skills, access to educational opportunities, one’s race, one’s gender, or one’s economic status. A person that immigrates to this country usually struggles to find a stable and equal life than those that have an established life and family here. I believe that people that are new to the United States struggle more than any other people. Newly immigrated people that have come to the United States often come with very little things or nothing at all. These people leave everything behind including their families at times to look for a better future for their family. They have to start over with nothing but their eagerness of wanting something better. Often, they struggle to even find well-paying jobs. But they have one goal in mind. That goal is to provide a better future for their family, so that perhaps their children do not have to go through the same obstacles that they have. Their children will have better opportunities, very distinct to those that their parents had.
The inequalities present in persistent in the world today are primarily a product of one’s economic and social background. With the exception of this presidential blur, I think that there are steps that are being taken to improve these inequalities such as access to financial aid and job training programs that will serve a greater good through a more qualified population.
