American Ideals and Idiosyncrasies

Today, many people believe that racism is a historical phenomenon that was present in the past ages. Most of the people perceive an ideology that America is built upon an anti-racial society where everyone, despite their ethnicity, is seen and treated equally. However, this notion is far-fetched and the reality is that America is still built upon a racial discriminating society. A racism free society is only an illusion that is created in the minds of some people. The truth of the matter is that racial discrimination is still eminent in different aspects of the American society. Paradoxically, the immense power that this body has can also be used to spread social hate and bring differences based on ethnicity. In an article by Carbado and Harris (165) the authors point out to two pictures that was taken after the Hurricane Katrina.

Even during times of such grieve tragedies, racism was still evident in some media releases. Carbado and Harris highlighted two photos which were published where in one an African American and the other a Caucasian man were seen wading along the flooded roads carrying food stuff. During such a tragedy, it was clear that people were trying to scavenge for any food they could get. This ratio is ironical. The perception is that the black Americans are convicted of more felonies than the white Americans. From the data collected, the law is seen to favor some people over others based on the color of their skin. This situation might not be understood by many Americans since the law is believed to be an equalizer, standing in the frontline to fight racial discrimination.

However, the statistics will show that this is not the case. ” Still on the American dream, one of the challenges highlighted was the wealth distribution among the citizens. The white Americans were in a different category of social and economic class. They were rich and influential while the blacks could only secure menial jobs which were not well paying. As a result, the black Americans ended up living lower standard lives. Today, radical changes have been executed to ensure equal distribution of resources and wealth. However, the societal conditions and notions learnt result into people taking up a different perception of other people based on their skin color. Today whether consciously or unconsciously, many people have ended up looking at the societal setup from a racial perspective (Oliver and Thomas 24).

Additionally, people believe that the society today has reached a level where the American dream of equality has been achieved. However, the truth is that racism is still deeply rooted amongst the Americans. From different views, discrimination is seen where some races or people of a given skin color are seen as superior. Suggested Solutions First, in order to beat racism, people have to be sensitized on areas that discrimination still exist. Through this move, the people will drift away from the notion that the American dream has been achieved. It will then be possible to see and understand the abnormalities in the current society and embark on a spirited fight against racism. Secondly, the media should persistently focus on exposing ethnic biases in the society.