Moreover, many people in my neighborhood are able to have people come into their homes and provide services, such as housecleaning and lawn maintenance. Overwhelmingly, the providers of these resources are Hispanic, and the majority of them are illegal immigrants to the United States. Therefore, the hypocrisy of people is alarming; many people in my community are content to live a more comfortable lifestyle using the labor of illegal immigrants, but do not want to face any financial consequences for having done so, or to help provide any of the social services that these people need if they have come to the United States to work.
As far as I am aware, no manuals for any workplace in my community mention any race, specifically. To do so would invite charges of overt discrimination, even though doing so might actually help prevent certain types of discrimination. For example, an Indian friend has a swastika-like symbol on her front door, and people have assumed that she is anti-Semitic. However, the symbol actually serves as a type of blessing in her religion. Providing this type of culturally-relevant information might help prevent racial discord, by minimizing the opportunities for misunderstanding. However, companies seem to shy away from doing this. On the other hand, the fact that my company manuals are race-neutral means that I do feel that they relate to people like-me. Whether I would feel that way if I were the member of a minority group is impossible for me to know.
There are really no significant differences between me and the people in leadership positions in my community. In fact, I think that my community does provide ample opportunity for people from all backgrounds to attain leadership positions, whether in government or business. However, like leaders everywhere, I feel like many of the leaders in my community have lost sight of the importance of individual...
I hope that I never do so.
If I were to resolve any inequities in my community, I would not attack those inequities primarily on a racial basis. On the contrary, I do not believe that race continues to be the major social problem that it was decades ago. One should not misunderstand this statement to mean that I believe that the United States has obtained racial equality, because I do not believe that to be the case. However, when one looks at which members of minority groups have managed to achieve or surpass white- middle-class aspirations, it becomes clear that it is those people who have managed to attain quality educations and who have come from backgrounds, either personal or cultural, that stress the importance of financial responsibility. Therefore, I would address the inequities in my community by attacking socio-economic differences. Poor children generally attend inferior schools, which sets them up for a lifetime of lowered expectations and achievements. I would ensure that every single child in my community (with the exception of the special-needs students, who would receive greater funding) would receive actual, equal funding for their educations, and that those resources were spent to maximize educational opportunities.
I would also attempt to attack racial inequity in my community by addressing the issue of illegal immigrants. There are millions of people in the United States who contribute positively to the economy and their communities, paying taxes, and doing jobs that are rejected by the vast majority of second-generation or beyond Americans. While I understand concerns about people continuing to enter the United States and placing a heightened demand on already-strained financial resources, I believe that something could be done to legalize the status of people who already live here.
