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Is the U.S. a "land of opportunity"?
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Is the U.S. a "land of opportunity"?

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Noah Smith
Jul 10, 2021
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Is the U.S. a "land of opportunity"?
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"Ellis Island Public Health Service Physicians" by NIAID is licensed under CC BY 2.0

In 2015, the University of California issued guidance to its faculty and staff regarding microaggressions. Among the phrases listed as microaggressions were these two statements:

  • “America is the land of opportunity.”

  • “Everyone can succeed in this society, if they work hard enough.”

I criticized these guidelines at the time. Since then, they’ve become a fla…

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