America was founded on the idea of diversity and unity among all people, however Quindlen argues this vision of America as an "improbable idea" has not been fully realized. While the country aimed to treat all equally regardless of background, historians note the rise of ethnic segregation and clinging to differences undermines unity. Quindlen demonstrates how, in reality, most people see themselves as superior to others based on attributes like race, gender or beliefs, rather than accepting diversity as the country intended.
America was founded on the idea of diversity and unity among all people, however Quindlen argues this vision of America as an "improbable idea" has not been fully realized. While the country aimed to treat all equally regardless of background, historians note the rise of ethnic segregation and clinging to differences undermines unity. Quindlen demonstrates how, in reality, most people see themselves as superior to others based on attributes like race, gender or beliefs, rather than accepting diversity as the country intended.
America was founded on the idea of diversity and unity among all people, however Quindlen argues this vision of America as an "improbable idea" has not been fully realized. While the country aimed to treat all equally regardless of background, historians note the rise of ethnic segregation and clinging to differences undermines unity. Quindlen demonstrates how, in reality, most people see themselves as superior to others based on attributes like race, gender or beliefs, rather than accepting diversity as the country intended.
Anna Quindlen considers America to be an improbable idea because, although this
country was formed to have diversity, there are still many who don't fully accept each other. For example, she states, Historians today bemoan the ascendancy of a kind of prideful apartheid in America, saying that the clinging to ethnicity, in background and custom, has undermined the concept of unity. These historians must have forgotten the past, or have gilded it, (Quindlen pg. 3). This demonstrates how this country was formed to accept differences. It was created so that everyone who came here would be treated equal, no matter what. In reality, most people think of themselves as better than someone else. Everyone tends to find ways about how they are better than someone else: in race, gender, sexual orientation, etc. Wars have been started due to differences in beliefs. Americans have segregated different colored people, just because they strongly believed they were better than them. Not everyone fully understands and accepts differences. Overall, Anna Quindlen considers America as an improbable idea, for there are many people who don't accept each other's diversity.