America has always depended on shared ideas: liberty, merit, opportunity. What we are witnessing now is not just a breakdown in those values, but a reshaping of how they are discussed, taught, and understood. The problem is not only what is happening, but also how it is being messaged. Words like “equity,” “inclusion,” and “justice” have been redefined to mean something very different from what Americans once believed. The result is a nation that no longer agrees on what success looks like, or who is allowed to achieve it.
The Founders built a system where your last name did not matter. What mattered was your effort, your ideas, your merit. No monarch. No caste. No privilege of birth. You could rise as far as your abilities — and your character — would take you. That was the American promise. We are now watching that promise be inverted.
Today’s ruling class speaks constantly of fairness and systemic injustice. But underneath those slogans lies a quieter truth: In place of merit, we are offered preference. In place of opportunity, grievance. In place of encouragement, the soft tyranny of special treatment.
America is not a flawless nation, but it is unmatched in diversity. It is the only country on Earth where three distinct racial groups each make up more than 10 percent of the population, and a fourth — Asian Americans — is quickly approaching. That reality alone undermines the fashionable narrative that we are somehow a white supremacist nation.
During the Biden administration, legal and illegal migrants have arrived from more than 100 countries, many fleeing war, persecution, or collapse. Most are not white. And yet, when just 59 white farming families from South Africa — fleeing land seizures and racial violence — were granted refuge in the U.S., the media reacted with hostility. Why? Because in today’s moral framework, compassion is selectively distributed. Victimhood has become a credential, but only certain identities qualify.
The Civil Rights Movement once called America to live up to its promise that all citizens be treated equally. That movement succeeded. But somewhere along the way, the goal shifted. Today’s message is not “You are equal.” It is “You can’t succeed without us.” Equality under law was replaced by racial preference in law. Affirmative action, DIE hiring practices, race-conscious admissions — these have not corrected injustice. They have institutionalized a new kind of hierarchy, where the currency is identity, not excellence.
We are told, repeatedly, that America still holds certain people back. But if that were true, how do we explain the achievements of Indian Americans, who lead in education and entrepreneurship? How do we explain the remarkable upward mobility of Nigerian immigrants, or the academic dominance of Asian Americans? These groups do not succeed because of racial preference or media cheerleading. They succeed because of culture: strong families, educational focus, and high expectations.
Meanwhile, in too many communities, the cultural script has shifted. The message is no longer “You can do anything.” It is “You can’t succeed — so don’t try.” The barrier is not legal. It is psychological. Schools, media, and government reinforce that script, and failure becomes self-fulfilling.
Education was once the path to opportunity. Now it is often the delivery system for ideology. Civics have been replaced by grievance. Mastery replaced by conformity. Students are taught that math is oppressive, that history is a story of shame, and that success itself is suspect. In place of inspiration, they are offered resentment. In place of ambition, protest.
Our schools used to produce citizens. Now they manufacture activists.
Adding to this decline is the steady erosion of an independent press. Journalism was once a safeguard against concentrated power. Today it is a mouthpiece for it. Major networks, newspapers, and platforms no longer even pretend to investigate both sides. Instead, they echo the language of one party, and one ideology. The stories all sound the same. The villains are always familiar. Dissenters are always dangerous. What we are watching is not journalism; it is coordination. And coordination without accountability is not free speech. It’s propaganda.
What used to be the American ethos — strive, build, rise — is now under attack. We reward compliance, not excellence. We silence truth and elevate curated narratives. We shame success and subsidize identity. The rules of the game have changed — and the builders are the only ones expected to keep playing by the old ones.
But here is the truth that rarely gets airtime: Americans — especially those so often accused of privilege — do not resent others for succeeding. In fact, many quietly cheer it. Despite what the media want you to believe, most Americans are proud to see others achieve in fields outside entertainment or sports. They do not oppose success; they oppose the rewriting of success into something shameful. The narrative of constant division is convenient but deeply dishonest.
The great promise of America was not perfection. It was possibility — the possibility that, regardless of your name or background, you could learn, work, and rise. It was not guaranteed success, but it was a fair shot. That idea attracted immigrants, fueled industries, lifted generations, and changed the world.
What threatens that promise today is not racism or inequality. It’s the rejection of responsibility, the obsession with group identity, and the erosion of belief in individual effort. A society that teaches its citizens to doubt themselves, to envy others, and to fear truth cannot remain free for long.
The solution is renewal — a return to expecting more of ourselves and less from Washington. A willingness to teach our children that dignity is earned, not awarded. That character still matters. That liberty is not a grievance, but a gift.
That is not just what America was. It is what it can be again.
Rick McDowell is a writer of political philosophy, American history, and essays on the mind. His other thoughts can be found at https://americanperspective.today.
Image: Pashi via Pixabay, Pixabay License.