Why Voting Beats 'Voting With One's Feet'
Deborah Meier writes again to Robert Pondiscio of Democracy Prep.
Dear Robert,
I don't want to give you too much joy, Robert. But, yes, I'm always nervous about rapid changes (so I'm conservative in this sense), and I can't bear being confined physically or intellectually. (I have strong libertarian impulses.) The inside of my house is being painted, and I wince over every decision that involves a change (in color, especially). And I always sit in confined places as close to the aisle and door as I can.
But I also—and here's the rub—can't stand unfairness. So I'm also eager for change in other contexts. It may be that I'm calling it change when at root it's a return to something I experienced earlier. But regardless, I can't become comfortable with how we conflate meritocracy with inherited advantage and luck when it comes to the lives of the young.
What happened in the South Bronx that made you drop some (which?) beliefs you thought of as liberal? My similar experiences had, perhaps, the opposite effect. I was stunned by how differently we school the rich and the poor. And likewise how differently the teachers in "wealthy" schools are treated vs. teachers who work in low-income communities. It was as though the contempt we feel for the students they teach transfers to a contempt for them as well. It seeps into the culture at every pore available—from the main office to the classroom, to the bells and whistles, the distrust