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Recommended: Racial inequality the impact on society

In January 2013 a prominent national US newspaper quoted former Secretary of State, Condolezza Rice, “It doesn’t matter where you come from, but where you are going.” However, In “The Land of Opportunity,” James Loewen discusses how significant inequality is in America. The social class that you are born into will influence your outlook on social class and will also be the social class you stay in (Loewen, 1995. 322). Your social class will determine the opportunities available for you including health, fitness, nutrition, education, SAT scores, medical resources and more (Loewen, 1995. 321-322). Loewen also proposes that the education system in America does not incorporate a proper analysis of our social class (Loewen, 1995. 323). It is necessary for students to be realistic about social inequality because it is linked with history. As students, we are socialized from an early age to believe in the American Dream through media and our loved ones. We were raised to believe our merit determines our success. In reality race and ethnicity, class, and gender play vital roles in determining where an individual ends up in life. The following articles raise inconvenient facts that go against the American Dream.
The majority of the articles assigned covered inequality centered on race and ethnicity. Feagin discusses attitudes and views of white Americans towards race discrimination and government actions against discrimination as well as the persistence of race discrimination. White Americans were interviewed and did not believe they are racists. However, their responses seemed racist in interviews. Feagin states most racist ideas and attitudes white Americans have are engraved in them due to media, the education system, workplaces, chu...

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... the discrimination and inequality.
Inequality is a sensitive part of our society. Discrimination and prejudice due to race and ethnicity, class, and gender keep minorities from opportunities in their life. Through these articles, you may understand how an ascribed status impacts individuals’ probabilities to make progress in life. An individual who does not have the “preferred” ascribed status may expect the need to overcome obstacles. However, success is still not promised to those who work hard and overcome their obstacles. The American Dream is to be successful through merit and determination but in order to reach success you must have the means to success that are not available to everybody. Based on these articles, Dr. Rice’s argument is false cause, which does not take additional factors into consideration, and is not based upon a sociological imagination.

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