22.

This week we took a survey in class on meritocracy and equality in America.  The questions and how different students answered them revealed how meritocracy is flawed and how American citizens are not treated equally.  We traded surveys randomly and took the stance of whoever’s survey we received.  The person whose survey I received said that the democratic system based on meritocracy is flawed and racism is very pervasive.  He said that although we can fight it, it is impossible in the long run to win simply because of the inherently biased nature of humans.  He backed this up with ethos by saying he cannot chose bandages in flesh color that more or less matches his own.  This shows that society does not view all races equally since there are not flesh colored bandages manufactured to match the skin tones of people who are not Caucasian.  He also said in his survey that he is pretty sure that if he asked to talk to the “person in charge” he would not be facing a person of his race.  The fact that he can confidently assume that the “person in charge” will not be a minority demonstrates the inequality in America between races.  This answer supports how people easily accept that the person in charge will be white because that is the norm.  I agree with this person about the inherently biased nature of humans.  It is nearly impossible to avoid judging people and making first impressions and while first impressions are usually based on what someone looks like, race is included in that which makes racism very hard to prevent.