Transforming America’s Discussion about Racism

America’s discussion about racism must be transformed. Many respected authorities have eloquently addressed the injustice of racism and the reasons to oppose racism seem self-evident to many, yet we still live in a world where too many people deny the problem exists and actively contribute to it. Here, I shall write about selfishly-driven arguments against racism, which must become part of the discussion, to finally drive the scourge from American life, bringing a brighter future for all.

First, let’s replace the negative idea of ending racism with the positive idea of bringing about equal rights.

The fight for equal rights is axiomatically a struggle by certain groups to gain something: equality under the law. More simply, justice. The struggle appeals to disadvantaged groups themselves, obviously, but such a value-driven argument will fall on the deaf ears of many others outside the group, who will continue as staunch opponents.

Human beings are fundamentally limited by their own perspective and are driven first and unavoidably by their own self-interest. Thus, the movement for equal rights will only gain the necessary critical mass of allies by reframing the argument to appeal to opponents’ self-interest. There must be a selfishly-driven argument which answers the unspoken, all-too-human question echoing in opponents’ heads: “What’s in it for me?”

And the answer is, “Plenty.” More talent. Increased innovation. Enhanced drive. Greater happiness. Nothing short of a bright future for all Americans.

The Selfishly-Driven Arguments for Equal Rights

Talent. We each receive the best products and services as consumers and as members of society if the providers of such are the most talented of society. Drawing, for example, from a talent pool of simply white men between the ages of 18 and 65 (18.1% of America’s 328m people) gives you 59.4 million people. If you draw from all people from that same age group, regardless of race or gender, you have 200.7 million people, a much larger pool. Indeed, that increment of 141 million is larger than the entire population of any country in Europe. It’s no wonder some foreign powers stoke division in our country.

Does someone want the best white male doctor operating on them? Or the best doctor — period — operating on them? The best white male firefighter? Or the best firefighter? Pick any profession. Journalist. Athlete. Chef. Architect. Driver. Lawyer. Stock trader. Electrician. Construction worker. Police officer. Almost all people who receive the services of those professions will want the best possible person for the job, regardless of other characteristics…once you get beyond heated rhetoric and divisive politics.

Innovation. But there’s more than just talent at stake. There’s creativity and innovation. Human beings, as groups, are limited by their echo chamber…group-think. Everyone is doing and thinking, roughly, the same general thing. Consequently, competition within any sector of society can be unforgivably fierce. The only differentiating factor is working harder and longer, implementing merciless efficiencies or hoping for a lucky break. And in most cases, regardless, there’s only incremental return on effort.

The way to soar ahead of your competition is to create your own inflection point…create your own revolution…by thinking differently from everyone else. The easiest structural way to ensure your group is thinking differently is to ensure that your group is not homogenous and not composed like everyone else. From different viewpoints, your group will perceive different problems and conceive of different solutions before others. But there must be equality for this to be possible.

Drive. Beyond talent and innovation, there is the issue of drive and working harder. Someone who is new to a group is more likely to be hungry to prove themself compared to someone who is established and comfortable. They will work more intensely or more efficiently or more creatively. And that hungry person can motivate that established person to work the same.

Talent. Innovation. Drive. These are all positive consequences for any group and for any recipients of the goods and services from such group. But they do portend a world of ever-greater competition where one may be pushed aside by new participants. Hence, the fourth selfishly-driven argument for equal rights….

Happiness. More equality and openness means more people in the marketplace of work and society. You may get squeezed out in that marketplace but the arbitrary barriers that create opportunities and greater happiness for previously-disadvantaged groups create opportunities for all. Maybe there are jobs open to you that were previously closed. Maybe there are jobs where there is less competition than in the past because disadvantaged groups relegated to those jobs are now able to explore others.

Maybe you do not have to be the family’s primary breadwinner. Maybe you will have to adapt and find an occupation you are more suited for. In those new circumstances, however, you may find yourself immeasurably happier and more satisfied.

I speak from experience. If I had been born a generation earlier, my career as an attorney would have been fixed and unchanging. Regardless of how miserable I might have been….regardless of how miserable I indeed was after eight years. And that alternative version of me would have been married to an alternative version of my Asian-American wife who would likely have been locked in as a housewife regardless of how well-suited she was to excel in corporate America.

But thankfully, I live in the present day. And when heart palpitations and too many work-filled weekends and 14-hour days had piled up, I was able to reinvent my career — going from law to wine — while Christie shouldered our family’s financial responsibilities with a career she found satisfying in an industry that did not give her a cold shoulder because she was a woman or Asian (as it might have done in the past).

Broaden the Concept of Diversity

Beyond these four points, however, the concept of equal rights (and the resultant diversity) must go beyond race. A racially diverse executive suite is significantly less so if all members attended Ivy League schools. An ethnically diverse neighborhood is less so if all residents are from society’s wealthiest quartile. A professional society with BIPOC membership is less so if all such BIPOCs must be funneled through certain gate-keepers or must have certain accomplishments not necessary for white candidates.

Racial equality is a critical objective. But it ought not serve as a veneer to hide other inequities based on other relevant characteristics of human society, like gender, orientation, regional upbringing, religion, income level, college attendance, etc.

This broader sensitivity about diversity could also transform how business, political and cultural leaders discuss the topic of inequality with the rest of society. They may better appreciate that implementing equality within their ranks will confront different obstacles than in other ranks of society. They will be more adaptable in devising and implementing solutions.

Avoid Self-Flagellation

America must pursue its discussion about equal rights without self-flagellation over the past, which can dispirit proponents and alienate potential converts. America has committed ghastly transgressions against humanity. Native American genocide. Slavery. Jim Crow. Japanese internment camps. America has unjustly stigmatized groups, marginalizing them to a less-than-equal status. The Chinese Exclusion Act. The War Against Terrorism. The War On Drugs. That “big, beautiful” border wall.

But our nation is not alone with the stained hands of racism and hate, violence and oppression. Exhibit A for many would be Germany and the Holocaust. But there are countless other examples. South Africa and Apartheid. The British Empire and India. Belgium and the Congo. Japan and Korea. Japan and China. China and political dissidents. Russia and its dissidents. Australia and its Indigenous people. Rwanda and its genocide. Chile and Pinochet’s disappeared. Saudi Arabia and its oppression of women. The list goes on.

To the extent a nation does not have any such transgressions in its past, perhaps they enjoy a different set of circumstances, like a more homogenous society or unique wealth…from, for example, technology or oil…that allows them to smooth over the ruffled feathers of their society.

And let us not forget that while America continues to be plagued by racism, there has also been significant progress. 2020 America offers much more equality of opportunity than 1920 America. And that accomplishment ought to be celebrated while the struggle continues.

America must continue its march towards equal rights without being hampered and dragged down by dispirit and lamentation over its past and without being divided by arguments over its past. We should be informed by such past. We should be motivated to improve on such past. But that past must not itself become the obstacle to our ultimate ascent.

A Bright Future

What lies ahead if…when…we bring about equal rights? Happier people and a higher-performing, more efficient society, in conjunction with our technological revolution.

The transformation of human activity is currently accelerating at a breathtaking rate. Technology empowers each individual in ways inconceivable less than a decade ago. The value of a college degree will significantly diminish as knowledge and learning become so much more accessible, for example. We won’t need an impressive resume trumpeting a highly-selective university to get work because we can promote ourselves in countless ways.

But the technology that brings such benefits and allows us to work from home and will make career pivots easier will allow work to invade our personal space and our personal time. It will become evermore imperative than ever that we like…if not love…what we do for a living. With that, each of us, regardless of race, will want to pursue a career that has as few barriers to entry as possible and advancement, especially barriers based on superficial, preconceived, wrong notions of race.

With equal rights, we will all be happier and more fulfilled.

Additionally, we will live in a world where more jobs will be occupied by the best of the best who love their jobs. And that love will lead to even greater innovation as professionals willingly and excitedly spend more time mulling over and problem-solving the obstacles in their work and of our society. They will either collaborate with — or be motivated to outpace — their competition, who, in either case are similarly positively motivated.

So, by freeing our society of racism, we unleash our greatest collective human potential.

In that future, all Americans…Men and women; Black, white, Asian, Latinx, Arab and Native American; Muslim, Hindu, Jew and Christian…will not only be free at last but happier than ever, maximizing their potential and harmoniously working for our collective betterment.

Some may think this a naïve, idealistic, unattainable vision for America. But in an era where so many revel in forecasting apocalyptic doom and entrenched, eternal problems, I will unapologetically propose this optimistic counterpoint. Moreover, we must dare to conceive of the greatest of futures so that even if we fall short, we may well have nevertheless accomplished something quite remarkable.

In pursuing equal rights for all Americans, we will not need to aspire to be great again because a new, much grander greatness lies ahead.