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F ³: Well, Sh**.


 

The man asks a question.

I’m curious, when do you think everything went to shit in the U.S.? I think it was 1976, when Reagan made his first run for the presidency and the tide began to turn in favor of deregulation of everything.

The woman answers.

Sadly: from the beginning. From colonizers slaughtering native peoples to the institution of chattel slavery. In those things are the seeds of destruction. To the extent that we haven’t reckoned with that, we perpetually weaken the democracy we wanted to have.

The man asks another question.

What would that reckoning look like, in your view?

The woman answers.

Owning up to the truth. Reparations. Laws that address systemic racism.

Saying “When did it go bad?”seems to me like saying “When did it go bad for white people?” because it was always bad for nonwhites. Ten years ago I wouldn’t have been considering any of this, by the way.

The man counters.

I don't fully agree. I think there was a very brief period, basically between 1965 and 1975, where there was the possibility of a better, more democratic, U.S. Great Society laws were those attempts, along with various rights movements and Warren court decisions.

The woman asks a question.

You clearly have brilliant credentials and I appreciate your courtesy in responding to me. All I ask is that you ask this same question to your Black colleagues and friends. What do they say?

The man answers.

I think that would depend on their ages, and how much American history they have studied, as well as where they live. But anyone is free to answer my question and offer counter suggestions. In general I don’t find “original sin” arguments particularly helpful as they don’t leave room for progress.

The woman answers back.

In my opinion progress would look like: Owning up to the truth. Reparations. Laws that address systemic racism. There’s plenty of room there to learn and to do better.


*****

The conversation you have read is real. (Only the names have been changed to protect the innocent.) No accusations were made. No insults were hurled. It was all quite courteous.

And it was wholly unsatisfactory.

Democracy will never fully be democracy if the people in the dominant culture allow for exceptions as to who is worthy of rights under the law. Anywhere you see people say, “All men are created equal” and, in the same breath, deny this for some - - that is not democracy. 

It is hubris to ask, “When did everything go to shit in the U.S.?” To continue in this vein and, with apologies for the crudeness, to the extent that we called ourselves a democracy and condoned treating “some people” like shit - - we were always shit.

Ahem. That’s really hard for me to say, and not just because of the language. 

We are often taught in school that the United States was created to be a radically world-changing democracy. Do we love our country enough to be honest about our faults and work diligently to be 
better? A bunch of white people having a nice talk about abstract ideals is not democracy if we can’t 
1) comprehend the logical conquences of our misdeeds and 2) make fixing them a priority. We just 
keep making the same mistakes over and over and poisoning the well for everyone.

Admitting fault and taking responsibility in any relationship is uncomfortable. It’s also the only thing that allows for a healthy and worthwhile relationship to continue. It is absolutely a necessary condition for trust, growth and success. 

What do we want? 







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  1. Julia A. McCreadyJanuary 9, 2026 at 4:52 AM

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