English 108 QD
Americans insist that the concept of equality, is that all should have the same rights, status and equal opportunities. Marian Beane writes, “This includes women as well as men of all ethnic and cultural groups living in the U.S.” (n.p.). In the iconic speech, “I Have a Dream,” by the late Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. he presented a dream by a large number of black Americans desperate to obtain civil and economic rights. It emphasized their desire to be able to live in an equal and non-biased social environment. Equality is especially important to immigrants because they need to have a relatively fair competitive environment and equal opportunities to obtain a good education and jobs. Equality is the basis of a harmonious society that is committed to the elimination of race, gender and class discrimination.
First of all, eliminating racial discrimination is an essential part of equality because every ethnicity is extremely important to society, whether, black, Asian, Hispanic, or otherwise. The reason is that those of every ethnicity, all want to have equal opportunities to reach their potential, and all want to contribute their talents and strengths to society. But if a society discriminates against some races, it may result in a negative impact to that society as follows.
First, racial discrimination can increase the emotional hatred between people of different ethnicities. This may result in eruption of wars and conflicts between different races. Such emotional hatred also results in that groups of people will be less willing to share their culture, ideas, and knowledge with other races which definitely prevents the further development of society.
Second, race discrimination can limit the development of the economy and diversity of markets. The reason for that is that some groups may reject the use of products of other ethnicities. A typical case in this point was the movement to boycott Japanese products. Many Chinese at that time refused to use any Japanese product including electric appliances, makeup, and clothes. It is resulted in a dramatic decrease in the Japanese economy. At the same time, the Chinese also lost the opportunity to use and consume excellent products. In summary, eliminating race discrimination will allow societies to become more harmonious, peaceful and enjoy further development. They all live in an equal environment, so that every race will have equal rights to education and the opportunities to pursue their dream.
Furthermore, eliminating gender discrimination is important to equality because “Gender inequality causes and perpetuates poverty and vulnerability” (Jones, Holmes & Espy 1). It is widely believed that in over half of the countries in the world there still exists the phenomenon of serious gender discrimination, especially in developing countries. For the past 10 years, in nations such as China, India, and Malaysia, gender discrimination is reflected in the degrees of the ability in obtaining education, differences in workplaces, and gender/salary gap.
For example, many families in China have maintained a sexist way of thinking. Parents are of the belief that a man can do anything: earn money, do farm work, and carry on the family line. On the other hand, the belief is that girls cannot perform such work. So they just allow their daughters to remain at home doing housework instead of sending them to school and encouraging their education. This causes a woman’s degree of education to be so inferior that it becomes difficult for them to obtain jobs and contribute to society thereby negating the gender/salary gap.
As a consequence, family pressure is increased and the happiness index is decreased. However, as the propagation of thinking that men and women are equal, women are more able to obtain equal education and opportunities to work in any occupation in China. So, at the same time, the phenomenon of poverty and illiteracy are obviously decreased and the family happiness index is increased. It is not hard to see that women also play an important role in society because they can reduce pressures facing the family, improve their quality of life, and promote economic development.
The third concept of equality is related to eliminating class discrimination in society Class discrimination results in resource inequality. Everyone who is alive in the world should be equal and there should be no distinction between people. Class discrimination causes many social problems and friction, such as the development of monopolies, great disparities between rich and poor, and social instability. These social problems and frictions will prevent further social progress and the growth of an economy. If a society has serious class discrimination, then only the wealthiest will command most the wealth and resources of the society. This is because the wealthiest people are those that are able to receive the best education in the best schools. They have access to numerous resources because of the elite circle in which they live. In this way, people of upper class in society become increasingly admirable and wealthy. In contrast, those living in poverty become increasingly poor. It is a “monopoly” phenomenon.
At the same time, society will regress because the upper class and monopolies lack competition, so that it becomes difficult for others to immediately discover their weaknesses. If, however, society didn’t have such serious class discrimination, everyone would have equal opportunities to obtain the best education, resources, and establish their business. In this way, society would see dramatic progress, become harmonious and attain stability. In conclusion, the more people can eliminate class discrimination, the more society will become equal.
In summary, whenever all the factors discussed above are taken into consideration, one can safely arrive at a conclusion: a stable and harmonious society needs to promote the elimination of race, gender, and class discrimination.
Racial discrimination causes emotional hatred, which will result in eruption of war and limit the development of society, such as the movement of boycotting Japanese products in China. Next, gender discrimination results in women unable to receive equal opportunities in China in order to allow them to receive education and work. This proves that gender equality can effectively reduce family pressure and promote economic development. Lastly, serious class discrimination can result in monopolies and regression of society because the most wealth is commanded by the least people. At the end, to eliminate race, gender, and class discrimination is important to equality of society.
Works Cited
Beane, Marian. An Adventure in American Culture & Values. International Student Guide to the United States of America. n.d. Web.
Jones, Nicola, Rebecca Holmes & Jessica Espey. Gender and the MDGs: A Gender Lens is Vital for Pro-poor Results. London: Overseas Development Institute, 2008. Web.
