Americans have been blinded to these calamitous mistakes partly by a long history of racism, as well as by a misplaced faith in “rugged individualism.” For example, some white families have opposed public financing for education, because they believe that their tax money goes disproportionately to help poorer non-white students.
美国之所以对这些具有灾难性后果的错误视而不见，部分是因为其长期的种族主义历史，以及对“粗放个人主义”的不当信仰。比如，一些白人家庭反对以公共资金支持教育，因为他们认为他们的税金会大量用于帮助非白人学生。