Meritocracy: Or the Lack of it

In “The Meritocracy Myth” by Stephen McNamee meritocracy is viewed as a myth. I agree with this idea that it is often not only merit that decides the place you will have in life. As McNamee states, “factors other than individual merit play a role in getting ahead: ‘It takes money to make money” [. . . .] (Provine, 2010, p. 391). When looking at the opportunities that must fall into place for the “American Dream” to be achieved, it is true that it is not just merit that makes this happen. Education is the first part. I have known children to go to school while homeless. How can you excel, have access to the technologies you need, and be able to concentrate on school when you have no money to have shelter? America often hides this view, and instead paints a picture of a white house, a white picket fence, a dog, and an entire family. The truth is this is not reality.

There are many ways in which you can obtain awards that have nothing to do with Merit. One example is with school districts and school ratings. If you live in an area that has a 10 school rating, then you get the benefits of an excellent education and with that often come more opportunities. Yet, if you live in a place that has a rating of 1 for your area schools, unfortunately you may not get quality education. You may suffer in the long run, not because of your work ethic, but because you are not given the proper tools to develop. The lottery is another example of how you can become successful by luck. As McNamee stated, “what matters is being in the right place at the right time” (Provine, 2010, p. 391). This can surely hold true to many of the millionaire winners from scratch off tickets.

America is a country where many people look at being different as something that is bad. Often you hear people say that all they want to do is fit in. Individualism is not valued in society, and therefore I think a system of rewards would change society a lot. Giving people rewards for their accomplishments would make a lot more people want to work different jobs. I truly believe there would be a lot less lawyers and Doctors, but instead more teachers. I think working hard would be the only determining factor in success, and being an individual would be a lot easier because there wouldn’t be set guidelines outlining that success. Yet, many people would disagree on a system based on rewards. Many people use their connections, and want to keep their connections. People who never worked hard for what they have, may not have anything. The same people voting to take away the aid in this country, might instead be the ones who need it. As McNamee states a true system of merit would be one where, “you may not be held responsible for where you start out in life, but you are responsible for where you end up” (p. 392).

There is a large difference between “equality” and the concept of “equality of opportunity”. Often people are not given equality through the class they were born in, the race of their skin, their sex, and sometimes even a handicap. In “Ruth Milkman” by Sí Puede demonstrated is how financial status can sometimes hurt the chance of having a “meaningful” life (Provine, 373). This is shown to be true by the lack of opportunity and connections some of the poor have. When dealing with “equality of opportunity” we look at two people given the same opportunity and equality becoming the actual work they put into that opportunity. Sometimes that can happen in the work place, where two people have the same opportunity to get a promotion. They have no more opportunity than the other, but one may work harder for that promotion. Yet, when I look at “equality of opportunity” I still see a society of too many differences, to be obtainable.

When dealing with people who cannot provide for themselves I believe that it is important to help them. It is often not just them, but the children, who had no choice what family they were born into. Many people struggle and anyone can lose everything at any moment. Yet, I believe that when you give someone a crutch for too long, you take away the opportunity for them to learn to walk again. I believe that it is important to help through job training, and opportunities. When dealing with people who just do not want to work, I think that those people should not be taken care of. There is a large difference between the two.

When looking at globalization and sustainability I agree with M Yunus in his article “A New Kind of Business” he describes globalization to be less important than aid. Yunus states that if we aided the poor all over the World and helped them obtain financial accomplishment, we would be doing more for the world (Provine, p. 355). I agree with this because just by giving a loan, women in other countries that are suffering can start their own businesses. Giving a person opportunity is true justice. Even though equality may never truly be existent, sometimes what matters is that people are able to have their basic needs: a safe shelter, food, and clean water.


REFERENCES

Provine, D, Chapple, R, Gray, K, Sefiha, O, & Walker, M. (2010). Perspectives on justice. Dubuque: Kendall Hunt Publishing Company.

IMAGE REFERENCES

Sampson, T. (Producer). (2011). The american dream and the pursuit of happiness. [Web]. Retrieved from http://thomassampson.com/?p=66


Rosales, L. (Producer). (2011). Has the american dream of homeownership been tainted by the economy?. [Web]. Retrieved from http://agentgenius.com/real-estate-news-events/has-the-american-dream-of-homeownership-been-tainted-by-the-economy/


Village, N. (Photographer). (2009). Homless in america. [Web]. Retrieved from http://www.nativevillage.org/Archives/2009%20Archives/APRIL%20News/April%202009%20News%20V3/report%201%20in%2050%20American%20Children%20are%20Homeless.htm

Justice, Social Policy, and Law

Change does not come easily; often it is accompanied by strong effort and a constant fight for rights. Stigmas, prejudice, and ignorance are difficult things to change. Usually it does not happen with just force, but instead with education, support, and “protest”. In _Perspectives on Justice_ by Doris Provine (2010) change is described as, “[. . .] a complex process because it involves both institutional readjustments and changes in prevailing thinking about social issues” (p. 284). This expresses how there is not just one step in change, but many; making the progression multifaceted, and often lengthy.


The Women’s Movement began in July 13, 1848. The online site “Living the Legacy: The Women's Rights Movement 1848 – 1998” by Bonnie Eisenberg (1998) describes the movement beginning at a “tea party” with Elizabeth Cady Stanton. This movement was an attempt to help women have more of a part in society. The tea party planned out a convention and followed through; which began the movement that is now known today. Other women that played a large role in the movement were Sojourner Truth, Lucy Stone, and Susan B. Anthony. These women traveled around speaking and establishing the movement for 40 years, and even eventually secured the right to vote. The article “The Women’s Liberation Movement: Its Origins, Structures and Ideas” by Jo Freeman (1971) describes how feminism ended ahead of its time. Though the right to vote was accomplished, there was still more to be fought for.


The civil rights movement ran from 1954 all the way to 1963. The movement began in order to end segregation and the lack of human rights for African Americans. In “The Civil Rights Movement, 1954-1963” by Dennis Simon (2002) Chief Justice Earl Warren is the judge who is said to publicize the judgment on Brown vs. Board of Education. The result was that “the system of segregated public schools in the United States was unconstitutional” (Simon). Rosa Parks was a large influence on the civil rights movement when she got onto a public bus on December 1, 1955. Parks was arrested because she would not leave a seat in the white section of the bus. Martin Luther King Jr. was the main person behind the bus boycott (Simon). This boycott went on until 1956, until bus segregation was also judged by the Supreme Court as against the US Constitution. The fight continued with the integration of Central High School in Arkansas, “the freedom riders” (who would sit-in at “black only” and “white only” segregated places in 1961), project “C” was what was referred to as MLKJ and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (continuing the fight of desegregation), and June 11, 1963 John F. Kennedy and the bill to congress (The Civil Rights Act of 1964) (Simon). The civil rights fight continued as many leaders were assassinated including Medgar Evars, Martin Luther King Jr., and Malcolm X. “The Civil Rights Era” by African American Odyssey described the civil rights movement as, “[r]esistance to racial segregation and discrimination with strategies such as civil disobedience, nonviolent resistance, marches, protests, boycotts, "freedom rides," and rallies received national attention as newspaper, radio, and television reporters and cameramen documented the struggle to end racial inequality. There were also continuing efforts to legally challenge segregation through the courts.” The civil rights movement is seen as a successful movement ending segregation, and beginning the attempt to a future of US cultural equality.

Both of these movements depended on key players to help the movement continue. The strength and determination of these players were shown by standing up through violence, hatred, and even a risk of death. Both the women’s movement and the civil rights movement fought for equality and the right to vote. They both accomplished the things they set out to accomplish. Yet, the women’s movement still lives on. Women often still fight for the right to equal pay and equality in the work place. Both of these movements prove that policy is in fact the motivating factor in social change. With the civil rights movement it was Plessy v. Ferguson the “separate but equal” policy that created a demand for change. It was then that “Brown v. Board of Education” played a huge role in beginning the Civil rights fight. In the Women’s movement both the policy disallowing women to vote and the lack of equal treatment that encouraged Elizabeth Cady Stanton to discuss her discourse among her friends at the tea party. It was this discourse that began the movement and change in the 19th century. In the article “The Policy Connection: How Movements Matter” by David S. Meyer the relation between social movement and public policy is described, “[w]e’ve seen how social movements are the product of public policy and how they sometimes can change public policy” (Provine, p. 301).

As we see from the past, both laws and social change are important to the social construction of justice. In the article “Struggle for Freedom: Disability Rights Movements” by Willie V. Bryan we are taught that policy alone does not always construct justice. Bryan describes how legislation before the “Rehabilitation Act of 1973” was made without contribution of those who were actually disabled, causing more of a limitation to them. Often this ignorant attitudes of the disabled lacking the capacity to express their needs, in return held those disabled down more. In the end, society needs to be educated and change needs to be employed. With laws and social change, justice is truly assembled. The laws that have influenced me and my perspectives of justice are the many policies against homosexual marriages in the United States. I feel for people who are not treated like humans, but instead treated like they are second class citizens. I would hope that we have learned from our past oppression, but instead I am saddened that people have to continue to fight for equal rights in the United State. Therefore, the LGBT movement is the movement that tells me that complete justice in the US is not truly existent. We still have a long way to go in order to not only change laws, but also create complete social change.



REFERENCES

Eisenberg, B, & Ruthsdotter, M. (1998). Living the legacy: the women's rights movement 1848 - 1998. Retrieved from http://www.legacy98.org/move-hist.html

Freeman, J. (1971). The women's liberation movement: its origins, structures and ideas. Retrieved from http://scriptorium.lib.duke.edu/wlm/womlib/

Provine, D, Chapple, R, Gray, K, Sefiha, O, & Walker, M. (2010). Perspectives on justice. Dubuque: Kendall Hunt Publishing Company.

Odyssey, A. (n.d.). The civil rights era. Retrieved from http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/aaohtml/exhibit/aopart9.html

Simon, D. (2002). The civil rights movement, 1954-1963 . Retrieved from http://faculty.smu.edu/dsimon/change-civ%20rts.html

IMAGE REFERENCES

Chenoweth, J. (Designer). (2011). A reflection on the day. [Web]. Retrieved from http://doylemarketing.com/2011/01/17/a-reflection-on-the-day/

Hudson, B. (Photographer). (1963). Civil rights movement: civil rights demonstrator attacked by a police dog. [Web]. Retrieved from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/media/61024/Civil-rights-demonstrator-attacked-by-a-police-dog-on-May

Jane. (designer). 7, okay 8 quotes for women’s history month, part one. (2009). [Web]. Retrieved from http://www.sevenof.com/?p=1288

Peacemaker. (Designer). Women’s rights….then and now (come on we want them). [Web]. Retrieved from http://peacemakervoices.wordpress.com/2010/02/24/womens-rights-then-and-now-come-on-we-want-them/