To the Editor,

The idea of reparations expressed in a letter to the editor in the July 17 edition of the Swarthmorean is terrible. This is an expression of the bigotry of low expectations from some of our fellow Americans by telling some of our other fellow Americans they cannot compete because of the false narrative of “systemic racism.” These types of attitudes are destroying the promise of the civil rights era.

Our country is the first to be formed by a set of ideas. One of these ideas is that we are all given the natural rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. We all understand that, when our country was formed, these rights were not extended to all people. We have to accept that, because — fortunately — the idea laid the foundation for a better future than was possible given the reality of those times. Today, our laws clearly give all Americans equality. It is up to individuals to live up to it. The divisiveness we have today is a disgrace. As individuals, we need to call it out when we see it.

We need to return to federalism by giving power back to the states and local governments. I have seen during my life how most federal programs to help our fellow Americans have had terrible unintended consequences. Sending more money to Washington will not solve anything and will lead to more government control of our lives. We need to starve Washington of funding and get back to allowing our citizens to make local decisions. We need to change attitudes, and we need to encourage our fellow Americans to take advantage of their opportunities. We must support equality of opportunity, not equality of outcome, because equality of outcome is socialism, and that is not the answer.

Jim Riviello
Swarthmore