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Dear Editor:
Racism is a major issue in today’s society. It stems from beliefs erected long ago by closed-minded thinkers. People are not born racist. Racism is an idea that is spread by the willingness of people in our society to accept the beliefs of others. This is called dependence.
The reason that racism continues to exist today is the conformity and dependence that has plagued our society. These are two things that Ayn Rand, author of “The Fountainhead,” protests. Instead, Rand promotes independence: the reliance on one’s own thinking for judgment. This characteristic is best displayed by the novel’s protagonist, Howard Roark. Roark, an individualist, is never one to accept a claim as true merely because others believe it. To echo, do not accept that someone is different because of the color of their skin or where they came from simply because others have told you so.
The antagonist in “The Fountainhead,” Peter Keating, is the epitome of conformity and dependence. He does not live for himself. He lives only for the approval and acceptance of others. His is the kind of thinker that promotes racism to continue to be an issue in today’s society. It is too often that people are discriminated because it is considered acceptable. Roark, on the other hand, forms his own thoughts and relies on his own judgment. Consistently throughout the novel, Roark refuses to bend to fit society’s expectations. If we all showed the same strength of independence and character, the world would be a better place.
Unfortunately, most of us do not hold the same principles as Howard Roark. Dependence is blind obedience or equally blind rebellion. Racism leads both types of followers. Whether a person is racist because their father was, or because they are rebelling against the “atypical,” both kinds of people are dependent. They are dependent on the thoughts, values, and standards of others. Dependents hide behind racism to ensure their own standing in society. In order to end this “disease,” it must be cut off at its source: dependent thinking. Let us all form our own, independent thoughts about the people around us before we conform to the old, premature judgment made by others about others. So, will you be independent or dependent, open-minded or closed?
Breanna Parker
Beaver Local High School, Grade 11