Remember This: Common Standards Aren’t Racist

A Shared Vision Once United Us

For a very long time, Americans, of all races and cultures, operated with a shared vision as to what deserved to be labeled outstanding and worthy of embracing. Recently, the promoters of dividing us due to race, income, cultural background, gender, sexual orientation or identification, even geography, have declared their opposition to reviewing anything without attaching their argument that any and all problems are best understood by including white privilege, even white racism.

The Modern Narrative of White Privilege

Generally, white privilege is seen as understanding that white Americans wake up every day expecting their worldview to be the one that dictates how all Americans will look at matters. White racism is what animates this approach. Systemic racism is the social codification of white privilege. Respectfully, I argue that much of this is a con job by those invested in promoting and maintaining divisions among us.

It’s Not 1963 Anymore

It is not 1963 any longer. Failure to appreciate the considerable progress this country has made on race is to deliberately insist on the absurd in order to promote a message that only serves to line their pockets and further their very progressive agenda. In other words, the reality of things need not interfere with their position.

The Danger of Dividing by Race

Of all the possible lines to divide us, race is the most prominent by far. In fact, each of the others (culture, race, gender, etc.) must explicitly recognize that whatever the problem is for a given group, it is always worse for people of color. Whether that is true or not, what is true is that demanding we surrender basic standards (more in a bit) in the name of anti-racism can only hurt the country, and those in any group, especially people of color, is more than a very bad idea. It is destructive and harmful.

The Duke Example

As far back as 2021, the Duke Medical School published its plan for the future. Dismantling Racism and Advancing Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in the School of Medicine. “White supremacy culture” was to be held accountable for such horrid items as being on time, dress code, speech, and work style.

Timeliness as a ‘White Construct’?

Let me get this right. Showing up on time is a white construct and ought not to be any sort of standard. Leave aside the thought of a doctor not being on time for a sensitive surgery. Let’s dive into the principle of it being white privilege.

In simple terms, there are more than a few people who take the argument that timeliness is racist is at the least soft racism, to believe people of color actually look at the topic much differently than whites. Try telling Ben Carson (an actual doctor), Thomas Sowell, or thousands of others, they are somehow less able to show up on time.

A Local Perspective

Just to be sure my thinking was on the mark, I reached out to several people of color in my community, New Bern, North Carolina, to get their take concerning being on time. In short, they not only thought it right and important, but also something that was nearly automatic. When I explained why I was asking, a few of them literally rolled their eyes.

Equity Without Abandoning Standards

The Duke plan asked that their community join together to advance “our mission to dismantle racism and promote equity, diversity, and inclusion at Duke and beyond.” Most of us can agree that increasing diversity and inclusion are good things. It gets a little more difficult when it comes to agreeing on what is equitable. Nowhere does it require turning our backs on reasonable standards in the name of anti-racism.

What Makes America Great

It is not some sort of accident that the American experience has resulted in providing more liberty, freedom, opportunity, and prosperity than any country on the face of the earth. No tortured logic by progressives can change this.

The Importance of Shared Values

Part of our greatness involves agreement that showing up on time, working hard, getting a good education (which does not necessarily mean a college degree), and valuing family (whatever its definition) are all to be honored and pursued by all of us. Those who cannot agree to this are, as stated earlier, merely stuffing money in their pockets and attempting to advance a particular (progressive) agenda.

Remember This

Remember this: Sharing common standards is not racist, no matter who says it is. Gloriously, more unites us than divides us. Let’s stick to what works best for all. What do you think?