Why Does Inequality Remain?

Contemporary Inequality

By Justin Duval

The modern concept of equality in the United States is that everyone is respected and treated equally.  The problem with this mentality is people themselves do not want to be treated the same.  There are so many types of people with different personal preferences including how much they want to interact with other people, how many compliments they need or want, and how much attention they wish to be paid: absolute equality will always be an unreachable goal.  The closest we get to equality in the U.S. is from our laws which appear to judge everyone equally.  Although the American people have come a long way in developing equal treatment under the law, there are of course many issues that still need to be sorted out. 

There are inequalities in the law mainly due to differences in race and finances.  The main issues with race that I have experienced are that cops focus more on minorities than Caucasians.  This could be because minorities are less familiar with the laws of the U.S., that they would have little money to afford a good lawyer for defense or because of a perceived racial superiority by the law enforcement.  The financial inequalities stem from the fact that lawyers, food, water, and shelter can all be expensive.  In order to defend yourself in the world, money is a powerful asset.  In order to adequately provide for your family’s basic necessities as well as higher education and medical care, money is important.  This leads to intellectual inequalities because immigrants in the United States cannot afford proper education thus leaving them more vulnerable to all types of exploitation.

From viewing Rap2k.com and studying the people of the French ghetto, it appears that the poor are looked down upon even more in France than in the United States.  Certainly France along with other countries in the world are making advances treating everyone equally through laws and further knowledge of peoples’ differences.  However, while the inequalities of material wealth, spiritual beliefs, language, and ideals remain unequal, it remains a difficult task for people to overlook them.